February 18, 2021

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 73

DIMAPUR, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

ISL: Goa beat Odisha 3-1

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sports, Page 12

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CNCCI asks govt to reduce fuel prices State Capitals Imphal Kohima Gangtok Agartala Aizawl Guwahati Shillong Itanagar

PETROL/LTR Rs. 93.36 Rs. 92.88 Rs. 90.55 Rs. 89.97 Rs. 86.82 Rs. 86.55 Rs. 86.23 Rs. 82.98

DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CNCCI) has expressed its dismay at the State government’s failure to act on the issue of high fuel prices in Nagaland by reviewing and reducing them.

As fuel prices determined every economic activity, the trade body said other neighbouring States of Assam and Meghalaya had felt the hardship of their citizens and business community and acted accordingly.

H o w e ve r, C N C C I chairman Dr Khekugha Muru and general secretary

DIESEL/LTR Rs. 83.51 Rs. 83.62 Rs. 82.30 Rs. 83.57 Rs. 79.21 Rs. 80.91 Rs. 79.49 Rs. 77.13

Prices as on Feb 17, 2021

FUEL PRICES IN NE STATE CAPITALS

Dr Seyievilie Mor said they were baffled as to why the State government was not responding on a similar manner of reviewing and reducing fuel prices in Nagaland. Due to high fuel prices, the business community was facing worst its nightmares like never before, compounded further by poor roads in the State While cost of transportation of goods almost doubled over the last couple of months, especially to other districts, the body pointed out that even passenger transport has become more expensive with fares being continuously hiked,

and there’s no clue of they going down any sooner.

Further, CNCCI feared that, with huge price difference with neighbouring States, even fuel retailers in Nagaland would lose business to these States, which would result in revenue loss for the Nagaland government in terms of VAT collection. It urged the State government to understand the hardship particularly faced by the business community and public in general.

The trade body also shared a comparative price chart that showed that while diesel and petrol were being sold at Kohima at Rs 83.60 and Rs 92.86 respectively on Wednesday, the prices for the same were Rs 79.34 and Rs 86.04 respectively at Shillong, and Rs 80.61 and Rs 86.43 respectively at Guwahati. Hence, it was plain and simple why every activity and commodity was becoming dearer and livelihood was badly affected. With the high fuel prices adversely hindering economic progress and busi-

ness activities in the State, CNCCI demanded that the government perform its responsibility by reviewing the fuel prices at the earliest.

The trade body further demanded that carrying capacity of commercial passenger vehicles be imme-

Myanmar coup: UN expert fears violence

nagalandpostofficial

international, Page 9

Scribes in Manipur continue stir

diately reviewed by allowing them to ply at full capacity for bringing down fares in line with the recent listed activities that have been allowed, as the existing SOP was practically impossible to maintain in mountainous roads.

Fuel prices rise for ninth day

Petrol and diesel prices climbed to fresh high across India Wednesday after the state-owned oil marketing companies hiked fuel rates for the ninth day in a row. Petrol and diesel prices were increased by 25 paise per litre each. After Wednesday’s price increase, petrol in the national capital Delhi cost Rs 89.54 per litre and diesel Rs 79.95 per litre.

In Dimapur, petrol price increased to Rs.91.96 per litre and diesel price rose to Rs.82.89 per litre. In the state capital Kohima, petrol and diesel prices climbed to fresh highs of Rs.92.88 per litre and Rs.83.62 per litre respectively.

Central and state taxes make up for 60 per cent of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54 per cent of diesel.

The union government levies Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 31.80 a litre on diesel.

Petrol crosses Rs. 100-mark in Raj: For the first time ever, the price of petrol crossed the Rs 100 per litre mark in Rajasthan Wednesday. In Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan, petrol price soared to Rs 100.13 a litre on Wednesday.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol in the country.

Journalist from various media houses in Manipur during the sit-in protest.

Correspondent

IMPHAL, FEB 17: Newspapers in Manipur failed to hit the stands and no local television channels aired any news or programmes for the fourth consecutive day as editors and journalists continued to halt work in protest against the grenade attack at the offices of Poknapham, a vernacular daily and its sister publication, The People’s Chronicle on February 13 evening.

With the 48-hour deadline served on the State government set to expire by

Wednesday midnight, police were yet to make any headway to nab the culprit. The state government had formed a special investigation team to probe the incident while police announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 to provide information leading to the arrest of the culprit(s).

Based on the CCTV footage, police said that an unidentified woman, who had come in a numberless white colour Activa scooter, lobbed the Chinese hand grenade inside the gate of the office of the Poknapham and The People’s Chronicle.

Centre trying to counter, destroy farmers’ movement: SKM Rio inaugurates State Data Farmers to stage ‘rail roko’ stir today

NEW DELHI, FEB 17 (PTI): Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Wednesday accused the Centre of trying to “counter and destroy” the farmers’ movement against the new agri laws and said it has appealed for peaceful protests during the ‘rail roko’ agitation on February 18.

The statement of the umbrella body of protesting unions came a day after BJP chief J P Nadda and Home Minister Amit

No new COVID case in State DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): No new COVID19 case was reported in the State on Wednesday, while five patients recovered from the infection on Wednesday.

As on February 17, the state recorded 36 active cases and 11913 recovered.

18,207 inoculated till date: State health and family welfare department informed that 8,207 doses of Covishield vaccine have been administered across the state till February 17.

State immunization officer (UTP) Dr. Ritu Thurr, 7,696 health care workers have received the first dose with a coverage of 36% and 8,761 frontline workers have received the first dose with a coverage of 17 % till date.

This is it!

“If he says four people run the government, then four of them here run the party.”

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Shah met party functionaries, MPs and MLAs from Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in the wake of mahapanchayats being organised by farmer leaders.

During the meeting, the BJP leaders from the farm community of these states were asked to clear misconceptions about the laws, sources had said.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had last week announced the rail blockade to press for its demand to repeal the legislations, said that it “appeals to everyone for a peaceful protest in the nationwide

‘rail roko’ programme on February 18”.

Earlier, farmer unions had called a ‘chakka jam’ on February 6 and a ‘tractor parade’ in Delhi on January 26, during which a section of protesters clashed with police, overturned vehicles while some hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort. “The (rail roko) programme will be organised from 12 pm to 4 pm in which support is expected from all over the country,” the SKM said in a statement. The SKM has taken note of the highlevel meeting of the BJP

president, Shah and other ministers with elected party leaders from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, it said.

“It is clear that instead of resolving the ongoing struggle and demands, the BJP is trying its best to counter and destroy it. SKM condemns this attitude of the ruling party,” the SKM said. It demanded that the government resolve farmers’ issues immediately.

“SKM avows that it will intensify the struggle and mobilise more farmers in its support,” the outfit asserted.

NNQF clarifies NPSC refutation DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) has denied it had allegedly accused the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) of withholding posts requisitioned to the Commission but that its statement was “merely a prayer, requesting the early advertisement of the five remaining posts” as and when they are requisitioned to the NPSC. NNQF was reacting to a statement by secretary NPSC published in local dailies on February 16. The forum clarified that in response to its RTI filed with the DHE secretariat, the department

vide RTI NO.HTE/HE/115/2013 dated August 19, 2019, had cited that the reason for the five posts being withheld in the first CESE advertisement on November 13,2019 as being under review and examination.

Further the forum also clarified that some of its members had met with the secretary NPSC at the commission office on February 12, 2021 to inquire into the issue and other related matters. NNQF said it had also submitted a letter to the secretary and a signed copy of which it retained. It said the contents of the letter published were then ques-

tioned by the NPSC. It said the commission’s contention that none from the NNQF “has ever contacted the commission on the subject cited above” was “unwelcome and regrettable.”

NNQF also said on further inquiry, it was personally informed by the secretary DHE that the review and examination of the five posts was currently being sorted out and that the posts will be requisitioned to the NPSC as and when completed. NNQF prayed that the concerned authority will take necessary action and bring its appeal “ to fruition at the earliest.”

Centre for water resources

Neiphiu Rio

SDC will help State manage water resources better Correspondent

KOHIMA, FEB 17 (NPN): Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio hoped that opening of water resources department’s State Data Centre (SDC) here would help the State manage its water resources better as all vital data and information on water resources would now be available at the centre.

Addressing at the inaugural function of the data centre, Rio said the centre would collect all vital data and information about water resources in the State and, after careful analysis, would make the information available in a meaningful manner on its website for government departments

and the people. He said all development and utility departments required accurate data and information about water and weather conditions.

However, pointing out that SDC would not be able to provide quality data on its own, he asked departments functioning closely with water use like PHE, Soil and Water Conservation, Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, Land Resources, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry and Power department to work in close coordination with centre and feed it with useful and accurate information. Only then, the centre would be able to get the quality realtime data and share them on its website, he added.

He mentioned that the data would help departments immensely in making better plans and future projections.

Cautioning against misuse and mismanagement of water resources, the chief minister said water crisis was looming large in many parts of the world, including India. He said there was a possibility of inter-village water disputes arising in the near future even in Nagaland, if water discharged by rivers and streams contin-

ued to shrink.

He maintained that in Nagaland too, many traditional water sources were drying up, while in foothill areas like Dimapur, underground water table was going down very fast. He said many wells were also drying up, forcing people to dig deeper and deeper wells even as the State government was making all efforts to provide clean drinking water to every household.

“With vital data and information about water resources now being readily available at the data centre, we should be able to improve management of water resources,” he remarked.

He hoped that the Central government’s Jaal Jeevan Shakti Mission, which was also being implemented in the State, would be successfully able to use the data about water resources from the State Data Centre in the future.

Rio exuded confidence that SDC would serve the State and people by providing useful data that was accessible by all government departments, institutions, NGOs, research scholars and interested public and help them in making better development plans.

(Cont’d on p-9)

The grenade however failed to explode. She had lobbed the grenade to cause loss of human lives and damage to valuable properties of the media house, the state police PRO said in the statement.

However, till date no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Journalists on Monday served 48-hour deadline on the state government to book the miscreant(s) behind the attack and also demanded a clarification from the attacker(s) with reason(s) behind the threat to the media house.

DAPC appeals for repair of NH-155/202 DIMAPUR, FEB 17 ( N P N ) : D e ve l o p m e n t Action Plan Committee (DAPC) Tuensang district has appealed to the minister for national highways Nagaland, NHIDCL executive director (Projects) and M/S Tachu company to carry out repair works on NH155/202 from Mokokchung to Tuensang.

In a press statement, Development Action Plan Committee president N Kaimang Chang and general secretary Singkhum said that the committee had gone to Delhi several times and met Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari and chief engineer, DoNER. DAPC said the team submitted a memorandum and apprised on the stretch of road (Mokokchung-Tuensang107 Kms), which remain neglected for so long.

After finding the matter to be a genuine one, DAPC said it was given assurance that a special approval for repairing be granted.

In this regard, DAPC has lauded all responsible for turning the dreams of the people of Tuensang district into reality.

(Cont’d on p-9)

IPL Auction 2021: Kense, youngest Indian to be shortlisted NMA reacts to Gov’s directive NEW DELHI, FEB 17 (AGENCIES): The Indian Premier League player auction is set to take place on Thursday in Chennai where all the eight franchises will go toe-to-toe, in order to have the best set of players in their respective squads. A total of 292 cricketers will go under the hammer – 164 of which are Indians, 125 from overseas and 3 from associate nations.

One of the more unknown players, who has gotten shortlisted this time around is Khrievitso Kense from Nagaland, a leg-spinner by trade who impressed for the state side during this

Khrievitso Kense

year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. Kense, who turns 17 on March 6, is also the youngest Indian player in the Auctions.

He would be a wickettaking option in the middle

overs and could be a big buy at the 2021 Auctions.

His journey to becoming a professional cricketer started at age 7, when he played tennis ball cricket with friends.

“When I was seven-yearsold, I would play cricket with the tennis ball my friends.

The first ball I bowled with the leather ball was when I was 12,” he told HT. He has a base price of Rs 20 lakh and the buzz is that both the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals are eyeing the youngest player in an auction pool of 292. Fifth among seven siblings, the carpenter’s son from Sovima village near

Dimapur, Kense says he became a cricketer all by himself and honed his skills by watching Warne on TV. “I was initially bowling off-spin. But my fingers started aching. Then I tried leg-spin. I didn’t have anyone to coach me. So I followed Shane Warne on TV and phone,” he told PTI from Chennai, where he is currently in quarantine ahead of the Vijay Hazare trophy starting February 18.

“I really liked the way he turned the ball. I never had a leg-spin coach, I learnt all by myself. There was a sir who would just guide me as I played U-16 cricket,” he

said. In a state where football comes naturally to young kids, Kense got attracted to cricket from a young age, thanks to his house which is opposite the state’s Sovima Cricket Stadium.

“I was always attracted to cricket and never liked football. Sometimes I play table tennis though,” Kense, who idolises Afghanistan swashbuckler Rashid Khan and is a big fan of Sunrisers Hyderabad, said. “I really loved way he bowls googlies. Since 2015, I’m a big fan of Sunrisers Hyderabad and watch the IPL with my friends every year,” he added.

DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): Naga Mothers Association (NMA), in a memorandum addressed to the Governor of Nagaland, drew his attention to his recent directive issued to the chief secretary to take action against a government officer for sedition. In a joint statement, NMA president Abei-u Meru and vice president Sarah Nuh said the association was constrained to react due to the deafening silence of “state govt service associations in the public domain”.

In the memorandum, NMA reiterated that fundamental right as guaranteed under the constitution was as applicable to every citizen including government servants in airing their views either to higher authorities or in public domain. NMA, said the directive “targeting Dr. Inato Jimomi, a dedicated veterinary doctor by profession and noted social worker” was of serious concern. It said during his childhood, the doctor’s father,” was killed by Indian armed forces, while serving in the Naga army”.

It also mentioned that the veterinary officer has “worked tirelessly for Naga widows and orphans of Naga struggle” and often aired his personal views on the Naga struggle and the long drawn out search for peace” and which (Full text on p-6) cannot be termed as sedition.

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state

nagalandpost.com Poll Q:Is the state’s highest budget deficit due to unchecked spending?

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A

B

A Yes. B No. C Can’t Say.

C

89% 9% 2%

Next poll

Q: Who is to blame for

recent rockslides for 4-lane on NH 29?

 NHIDCL  Contractors  State govt.

WEATHER FORECAST February 18

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Partly sunny and very warm

32 15

Aizawl

Sunny and very warm

29 9

Guwahati Sun and areas of high clouds

30 14

Brilliant sunshine

29 6

Itanagar Partly sunny and delightful

26 14

Shillong A passing afternoon shower

21 7

A t-storm around in the p.m.

23 9

Imphal

Kohima

Dimapur Partly sunny and nice Mkg

Partly sunny and pleasant

Tuensang Mostly sunny and cooler Wokha

Nice with some sun

Zunheboto Partly sunny and nice

‘Noklak honey’ launched; review on FPOs

DIMAPUR: Additional secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi on Wednesday launched “Noklak honey” produced

by Agro- Revolution Society, Noklak and promoted

by CIH, Medziphema at the review meeting on the progress of the formation of Farmer Producers Organisations (FPOs).

A press release by CIH stated that the review meeting was held to disseminate information and discuss issues and challenges faced in formation of FPO, an interactive physical and virtual review attended by mission directors of North East, Dr. NK Patle, addl. commissioner (Hort.), DAC&FW & director i/c CIH, officials from NCCT, Imphal, NAFED, Guwahati, SP Noklak and stakeholders on implementation of central sector scheme in North East region at CIH,

Interaction with members of FPC Molsang.

Medziphema.

Additional secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, who chaired the meeting apprised all to continue working in close

coordination in spite of the geography & topography differences of all stakeholders in order to achieve the target of forming 10,000 new FPOs under central sector scheme

for formation & promotion of new FPOs. As a part of the meeting, the additional secretary along with other dignitaries visited Farmer Producer Company (FPC)

ICAR conducts workshop on pork marketing chains very low and there were enumerated problems faced by pig farming in Nagaland such as non-availability of good germplasm, lack of breeding pig farm and high production cost.

Meanwhile, Principal Scientist, NRC Mithun, Dr. Nazrul Haque emphasized on cultivating feed crops and stated that combination of maize and soybean could be cultivated by farmer and can be combined in the ratio of 70:30

29 13 25 11 17 7 22 13 22 9

Briefing for NITI Aayog meeting

DIMAPUR: A briefing for the 6th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, which is scheduled to be held on February 20, 2021, was held at the residential office of the chief minister on February 17. According to an official bulletin, the state chief minister, Neiphiu Rio, was briefed by the chief secretary and other senior government officials on various agenda such as reducing compliance burden at State level, thrust on creation of jobs, reimagining agriculture with emphasis on the Naga Model Integrated Settled Farming, and improvement of physical infrastructure.

Agenda on human resource development, improvement of service delivery at grassroots level and healthcare sector were also taken up during the briefing.

Officials of ICAR participants at the workshop.

DIMAPUR: Two-day workshop on “economic optimisation of pork marketing chains in Nagaland” under NASF Project “pork marketing chains in North East India for sustainable livelihood of tribal women (Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland)” was held at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland Centre, Medziphema on February 11 and 12.

A press release by ICAR stated that Joint Director, ICAR Nagaland Centre, Dr. D J Rajkhowa informed the house that

with Nagaland being the highest pork consuming state nationally, the pig industry could revolutionise economy in the state, further adding that real attention had not been given to piggery and that commercialisation was extremely vital for pig farming to stand on its feet.

He further stressed on requirement of affordable ration for farmers.

Director (acting), NRC Mithun, Dr. Meraj Haider Khan in his address stated that under local conditions feed conversion ratio was

Dimapur police crime reports

DIMAPUR: Dimapur police updated various crime reports under Dimapur district leading to the arrest of various individuals.

Two arrested for extortion: Dimapur police reportedly apprehended one Khetovi Aye (26), Rajapeyu, NSCN-K, of Surumi under Zunheboto, presently residing in Toluvi village Dimapur for demanding money from the business community at NL Road Dimapur. In this connection a case was registered with East PS.

Meanwhile, one Itovi Yepthomi (35), presently residing in Sachu Colony Dimapur was apprehended for collecting money from vegetable vendors at New Market area Dimapur. In this connection, a case was registered with West PS. Illegal dr ugs: On February 13, a 26-year old, identified as Bendangmeren Ao, a resident of Chümoukedima was apprehended. Police seized suspected brown sugar weighing seven grams

from his possession. In this connection, a case was registered with Diphupar PS. Earlier on February 4, one person identified as Mughavi (35) was arrested for illegal possession of 11 kgs of suspected contraband ganja from 4th Mile area. A case was registered with Diphupar PS. Stolen vehicle: Police personnel manning Kuhuboto Police out post recovered a stolen Bolero on February 12. The vehicle was later handed over to Dispur police, Assam.

SDGCC invites applicants: SDG Coordination Centre (SDGCC), Planning & Coordination Department has come up with sustainable development goal (SDG) “innovation participatory action research initiative” to promote implementation of small and innovative projects which will contribute towards the achievement of SDGs at grassroots level. A total of three projects amounting to Rs. 2 lakh each will be awarded to the most innovative projects. SDGCC, Planning & Coordination Department has opened applications for individual/organisation of Nagaland from February 18 to March 12. For more details, one may log on to https:bit.ly/ SDG innovation.

Urban deptt informs: Urban development officer & secretary, DUDA, Tuensang, Wachusie Katiry has informed all concerned that in supersession of earlier notice, a revised time schedule for implementation of self employment programme (SEP) under National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) for 2021 was as follows: issue of application forms up to February 23; submission of fully-filled up forms (February 25); date of interview for selection of beneficiaries (March 2 and 3), 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at ADC’s office chamber; last date of submission of necessary documents by the selected beneficiaries (March 31); submission of project reports to the bank (first week of April). Beneficiaries have been directed to follow SOPs laid down by the government during the schedule.

KSSU presidential meeting: Kohima Sümi Students’ Union (KSSU) has informed that its presidential meeting vis-a-vis upcoming 2nd biennial conference and felicitation programme will be held on February 20, 10 a.m. at Red Cross building, MC hall, PR hill Kohima. All units’ presidents/representatives have been directed to attend with two representatives on the said date. Advisors have also been requested to attend the same.

Lost and found: UT GPRN (NSCN-IM) has recovered one two-wheeler Bajaj Platina bearing chassis no MD2DDDZZZRWE11805 and eng. no DUMBRE21889.

Rightful owner has been asked to claim the vehicle by producing original documents within seven days from date of this publication or contact at 7085596462.

for optimal feeding.

Deputy director, Department of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Dr. Sentinungla mentioned that 70-100 pigs were being slaughtered in Dimapur in slaughter house which was commissioned in 2012.

Around 53 participants participated in the workshop.

NLSF holds meet with NU vice chancellor

NLSF delegation with controller of examination, Dr. Moasangba and deputy registrar, Nagaland University, Lumami, Albert.

DIMAPUR: Nagaland Law Students’ Federation (NLSF) delegation met vice chancellor, Nagaland University (NU) Pardeshi Lal, registrar Dr. Abemo, controller of examination Dr. Moasangba and deputy registrar Albert on February 11.

A press release by president NLSF, C Talimoa and education secretary, Shenti Simon C stated that the NLSF delegation informed the VC that since the earlier Consumer Protection Act 1986 was replaced

by Consumer Protection Act 2019 and that as the state government has also adopted the new consumer act, it was imperative that NU also do the same.

As Consumer Protection Act 1986 was a subject in the first Semester LL.B course, NLSF apprised the University to replace the said syllabus with the New Act in the LL.B course.

As assured by the University, the quality and standard of education could not be compromised at any cause. The federation also discussed matters pertaining to exams during the pandemic, LL.M and other relevant issues with the University.

Earlier, NLSF expressed gratitude to the University for introducing the PG Degree (LL.M) under Nagaland University which was a long cherished dream.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY Late Chungralo Merry

17th Feb 2020 One year ago today you went to be with heavenly father.

We miss you and held you close within our hearts and there you will remain. To walk with us throughout our lives, until we meet again.

"When an innocent person suddenly dies, God laughs."

Job 9:23 Your family DP-943

1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY Its already been a year that you've left us for Heavenly abode.

We cherish all the memories we had together. We love you everyday, fondly remember you and we'll dearly miss you forever.

Late Yangerla Lkr. ( 26.06.1990- 18.02.2020)

From, Loving Son, Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Friends and Relatives DP-858

Born: 12.10.2015 – Died: 12.02.2021

With great profound gratitude, we offer our heartfelt appreciation to each and every individual, relatives, neighbours, friends and all the well-wishers for your unceasing prayer support and benevolent act of kindness extended to us at the sudden demise of our beloved son Lt. Thejavi Sekhose on 12 Feb. 2021.

We are deeply tough and immensely blessed by your comforting presence and kind generosity. We regret for our inability to mention each and everyone, but it is in our humble prayer that God bless you all abundantly.

K-392

Loving parents, sister and family members

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

25th DEATH ANNIVERSARY of

Lt. Neivito Nakhro (N.H.Nakhro)

news in Brief

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Molsang formed by farmers of Molvom & Bungsang villages and interacted with FPC members on its activities.

He encouraged and apprised the members of FPC to strengthen the company through various capacity building and training programmes provided through BIRD, Lucknow & LINAC Gurugram Institutes under the scheme.

Further, he congratulated FPC Molsang members for their progressive farming & marketing activities of pineapple and visited the off-farm demonstration of CIH on cultivation of onion var. Red TL and vegetable kitchen garden at Punglwa B village maintained by the women SHG under technical guidance of CIH. Additional secretary, MoA&FW also visited the weekly Haat at Punglwa village and interacted with buyers and sellers of vegetables and spices.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

18-02-1996

Since the day of your passing, many years have gone by and we continue to miss you and love you beyond words.

Today we celebrate your life with fondest memories and rejoice that we will meet again in eternity.

"For this God is our God forever and ever, He will guide us eternally" Psalms 48:14 K-388

Loving Family Members

Through this column we would like to convey our deepest appreciation and gratitude to all those who have supported us with your physical presence and prayers as well as material and financial support at the sad demise of our beloved Late Mrs. Vilesienuo Kiso who left us to be with the Lord on 5th February. 2021.

We regret our inability to thank all our near and dear ones and all well-wishers individually for your love and concern towards us during her illness and at her funeral but your kindness shall always remain in our hearts and we pray that the Lord may continue to bless you all abundantly.

We praise God for His mercies and blessing upon our mother throughout her life.

We shall always cherish her legacy of truth, hardwork and discipline.

K-393

Loving Husband, Sons, Daughters, In-Laws, Grandchildren and Relatives.

K Y M C

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

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3

State

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northeast

generated strong protests in Assam and elsewhere.

Five persons were killed in police firing in the state in December 2019 during violent protests against the Act that seeks to grant Indian citizenship to nonMuslim religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Addressing his first public rally in the poll-bound Assam at Sivasagar on Sunday, Gandhi had declared that his party will protect every principle of the Assam Accord and will never implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act if voted to power in the state.

Gandhi and other leaders were seen wearing ‘gamocha’ where symbolically the CAA word was crossed, giving a message against the controversial law. Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said

Meghalaya cabinet regularises decision to revise fuel tax rates

S h i l lo n g, F e b 1 7 (PTI): The Meghalaya Cabinet on Wednesday regularised the decisions of the government to revise the tax rates for petrol and diesel twice this month, reducing fuel prices by over Rs 7 per litre, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said.

The tax rate was first revised last week which slashed the retail prices of both petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre. The state government on Tuesday again lowered value-added tax (VAT) on the two petroleum products resulting in reduction in the prices by over Rs 5 per litre.

“Earlier we had done it for Rs 2 and yesterday we again revised the new tax rates for petrol and diesel.

Both these decisions were regularised in the Cabinet today,” Sangma told reporters.

It was also decided at the Cabinet meeting that tribal mining leaseholders

will have to pay 100 per cent of the stamp duty in line with a court order, and not just 50 per cent, as was initially interpreted.

“There was a court order that required mining leaseholders to pay 100 per cent of stamp duty. It was initially thought that the mining lease falls under the instrument of conveyance wherein schedule caste/schedule tribe lessees need to pay only 50 per cent of the stamp duty,” Sangma said.

The chief minister asked all mining leaseholders to immediately pay the rest of the 50 per cent stamp duty within March 31 next.

“We are expecting to get an additional Rs 27 crore through this,” he said.

The Cabinet also decided to amend the Meghalaya Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2006 which will enable the government to borrow up

to 5 per cent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“You are aware that because of the COVID situation, the government of India has allowed all states to borrow additional 2 per cent. Accordingly, an ordinance was passed to amend the FRBM Act to allow the state government to take up to 5 per cent of the overall GDP as debt,” Sangma said.

The state Cabinet also approved the appointment of 45 junior engineers under the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department bypassing the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC).

“The PHE department had conducted interviews and about 45 junior engineers needed to be appointed urgently. There is a shortage of manpower for the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission,” the chief minister said.

Deadline for kidnapped oil staff nears

Itanagar/Guwahati, Feb 17 (IANS): The deadline set by terror outfit ULFA-I for the two hostages of a Delhi based private oil company -- who were kidnapped in December last year -- would expire on Wednesday even as the police remained clueless over the fate of the duo.

Delhi-based Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Ltd’s drilling superintendent Pranab Kumar Gogoi and radio operator Ram Kumar were abducted at gunpoint by militants of the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) from the drilling site in Innao area in Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh on December 21 last year. In a statement issued last month, ULFA-I had said that it has set February 17 as the deadline to decide the fate of the two employees, asking the authorities to meet their demands before that.

No new COVID-19 case in Arunachal Pradesh

Ita naga r , F e b 1 7 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, a senior health department official said on Wednesday.

The total caseload in the state remained at 16,833, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Ar unachal Pradesh currently has three active COVID-19 cases, while 16,774 people have recovered from the disease so far, he said.

PA to M’laya BJP MLA commits suicide Correspondent Shillong, Feb 17: The personal assistant to Meghalaya BJP legislator, Sanbor Shullai allegedly committed suicide at her residence here on Wednesday, police said.

No suicide note has been recovered.

Lebana Lucia Marwein (44) was found hanging in the bathroom this afternoon, police said. Police said that they are still investigating into the suicide.

The COVID-19 recov- line workers have received has been carrying out the ery rate in the state has vaccine shots so far in the inoculation drive four days touched 99.64 per cent, state. a week -- Monday, Thursday, while the positivity ratio The health department Friday and Saturday. stands at 0.01 per cent and the fatality rate at 0.33 per cent, the official said.

Fifty-six people have succumbed to the infection so far, the official said.

Altogether, 4,01,518 Happy birthday Hobi, samples have been tested for Never knew time will fly this fast. You COVID-19, including 666 never fail to inspire us... As you grow a year older, may you continue to be our on Tuesday, the SSO said.

Meanwhile, State Im- sunshine, our hope. Millions of warm munization Officer (SIO) wishes from all over the globe...

Dimong Padung said that From OT7GC, Admin Tutu 15,584 health and front-

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION NAGALAND, KOHIMA

NOTIFICATION NO. DTE/ ESTT-2/12/2018-19/: This is to invite an application in plain paper from the interested and eligible NEET(UG)2020 candidates who have already submitted NEET form to Directorate of Technical Education opting BAMS course to undergo BAMS course of study at Government Ayurvedic College & Hospital, Guwahati.

Last date for submission of application to the undersigned by hand or through email: dtenagaland@gmail.com is on or before 22th February 2021, at 3:00 PM. Selection shall be done purely on the basis of NEET(UG) 2020 merit from amongst the application received. The last date of reporting to the institute for admission is 28th February 2021.

(ER. VIPULHOU LHOUNGU) Joint Director Issued by DIPR DC-

Taufiquddin Ahmad, the Editor-in-Chief of local news website Pratibimba Live, and its News Editor Iqbal were arrested to investigate the 'conspiracy.'

adopted a different strategy to malign my character and I have been noticing this recently,” he said.

Sarma said that the photograph posted with a malafide intent was disturbing and “we could not sleep the whole night”.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) G P Singh said that the police will take strong action against all such attempts under stringent provisions of the POCSO Act, he said.

They were arrested on the basis of a case registered with the Dispur police station under IPC Section 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman), and Sections 14 and 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

“Action shall be taken against all persons irre-

spective of their place of residence who use any of the social media platforms to maliciously use such platforms for furthering this conspiracy,” Singh added.

The website had shared a photo of the minister hugging his daughter, following which it went viral on social media.

The website later apologised for not mentioning that the girl in the photo was the minister’s daughter and blamed others for sharing it with the intent to defame Sarma.

The news outlet received backlash for the intent to share the photo in such a way with Sarma retweeting it and mentioning that it was him and his daughter.

Police said they are investigating the matter to identify those behind the post going viral.

Schools in Mizoram will reopen for class 9 & 11 from Feb 22

Aizawl, Feb 17 (PTI): Schools in Mizoram will reopen for students of class 9 and 11 from February 22, an Education Department official said on Wednesday.

Students of class 10 and 12 are already attending schools from January 22, the official said.

Schools have been closed in Mizoram since

March last year due to the spread of COVID-19.

The state government order on Wednesday said that normal classes for students of class 9 and 11 will start from February 22 and all students will have to undergo thermal screening before entering their schools.

It also said students of

EX-SERVICEMEN CONTRIBUTORY HEALTH SCHEME (ECHS) EMPLOYMENT NOTICE : POLYCLINIC MOKOKCHUNG 1. ECHS invites applications to engage in the following contractual posts in ECHS Polyclinic, Mokokchung (Nagaland) for a period of one year :(a) Dental Assistant/Hygienist/Technician (b) Chowkidar 2. Retired Army/Air Force/Navy/Assam Rifles personnel will be given preference.

3. For Terms & Conditions, application form, remuneration kindly contact on Tele No 0376-2310294 & 7002393113 or e-mail ID dhiphu.88110@gov.in. Last date of receipt of application is 15 March 2021. Interview will be conducted on 22 March 2021 at 1100 hr at HQ 41 Sub Area Jorhat. Candidates will bring original certificate/ degree, photocopy of testimonials/ experience and two PP size photographs at the time of interview.

Administrative Commandant, Jorhat Military Station

OFFICE OF THE

STAFF UNION BURA NAMSANG VILLAGE Dist. Longleng, Nagaland

FELICITATION We the Staff Union Bura Namsang Village with immense pride and honour to extend our heartiest congratulations to MR. Y. HAÜLOM YANPAI, S/o Lt. Yongnyü Phom, promoted as Sub-Inspector (S.I) under Nagaland Police Wireless Communication Department.

The Union prays that the Almighty God continues to grant him good health and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.

(HEWOK PHOM) Vice President Staff Union Bura Namsang Village

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OFFICE OF THE

THÜVOPISÜMI STUDENTS' UNION P.0./P.S. CHOZUBA, DIST, PHEK, NAGALAND

FELICITATION The Thüvopisümi Students' Union extends our heartfelt congratulatory note to the following individuals for their achievements.

1. Shri. Vesato Dozo, promoted to Additional Director under SIRD, Nagaland.

2. Shri. Razu-o Dozo, promoted to joint Director under Land Record and Survey, Nagaland.

3. Shri. Vevolhü Dozo, promoted to Treasury Officer, Mon, Nagaland.

4. Shri. Sevoto Rhakho, promoted to Sub-Treasury Officer, Phek, Nagaland.

5. Dr. Vesetala Tetse-o on conferring Doctor of Philosophy at Seoul Christian University, Korea.

The union expresses our extreme exhilaration with your outstanding performances.

Wishing you all the very best in your future endeavor.

Nüzoto Venyo Civovelü Rhakho President, T.S.U. General Secretary, T.S.U.

FELICITATION We the Lanu Taba Ufu Wb. Lolenmeren Zunge Longjang, extend our heartiest congratulations to Shri S.Temjen Aier, Son of Lt. Sowamongba Aier on being promoted to the Post of Additional Director School Education Department, Government of Nagaland.

The Zunge further wishes and prays to Almighty God for your good health and more wisdom and knowledge for all your future endeavours.

T. Imo Imsong President Lanu Taba Ufu Zunge, Kohima Unit

R. Ayu Pongen Secretary Lanu Taba Ufu Zunge, Kohima Unit

class 9 and 11 will also be allowed to stay in hostels with effect from February 22 provided that they produce a COVID-19 negative test report conducted within 96-hours before entering the hostel.

Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) prepared

by the School Education Department will be strictly followed, the order said.

School Education department director James Lalrinchhana said that regular classes for students of lower classes will likely to start from March depending on the COVID-19 situation.

THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (THE HIGH COURT OF ASSAM : NAGALAND : MIZORAM & ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

KOHIMA BENCH RE-TENDER NOTICE NO.HC(K)15/2015/Estt/20-21/::

Dated Kohima, the 17th February, 2021

Short quotation call for Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract for various Hardware and Network equipments for Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench, Kohima, Nagaland. The bidder who have already submitted the EMD may not submit again. Tender documents maybe downloaded from www.kohimahighcourt.gov.in The AMC for the various equipments is:1. Servers and Network equipments.

2. Desktop/AIO and LaserJet Printers.

3. UPS, Copier and Network printers.

The last date for submission of documents is 23rd February, 2021.

(NEIKO AKAMI), NJS, Registrar-cum-CPC Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench DC-153

YIMPANG HAPOE EVAN EKHUNG H.Q., DIMAPUR

FELICITATION The Yimpang Hapoe Evan Ekhung (YHEE) takes immense pride in congratulating Y. Tumchobemo Yanthan, NPS, Additional SP Wokha for being awarded the Governor’s Commendation Certificate on the occasion of Republic Day Celebration 2021.

The YHEE further wishes him success in all his future endeavours.

Chonthungo Kikon Chairman, YHEE

Atheo Patton Vice Chairman, YHEE

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You may sign the gamocha and send it to us through courier or hand it over to any party worker when they visit you,” said party’s manifesto committee chairman Gaurav Gogoi at a meeting in Bihpuria.

The party’s state unit president Ripun Bora said “we have our ears on the ground and expect that the party will get at least 50 lakh gamochas from across the state and all of them will be displayed at the upcoming memorial”.

After Rahul Gandhi’s no CAA call, the Assam unit of the Congress is devising programmes to make the contentious citizenship law an important election issue.

Polls to 126-member Assam assembly are expected in March- April this year.

The legislation had

SHILLONG, FEB 17: The Meghalaya Government expects to derive around Rs 27 crore additional revenue from lease holders of mines in the State who have been directed to pay the remaining of the 50 per cent stamp duty within March 31 on the close of the financial year.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who chaired a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said the direction was given as per a court order that mining lease stamp duty is not under the instrument of conveyance and hence mining lease holders will have to pay 100 percent stamp duty.

He said the earlier interpretation was that the mining lease falls under the instrument of conveyance, according to which Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe need to pay only 50 per cent of the stamp duty but that is not the case as per the court order.

“Therefore, all the mining lease holders are being asked to immediately pay the rest of the 50 per cent for the mining lease stamp duty. We are allowing them to pay half of it immediately and the rest of the half within March 31, 2021,” the Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, said.

GUWAHATI, FEB 17 (PTI): Two journalists were arrested and three others detained on Wednesday for their alleged attempt to malign Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after they shared a photo of him along with his daughter with a “salacious intent”, police said.

The minister’s wife had filed a complaint with the Dispur police station here under the POCSO Act, following which the Guwahati City Police began probing the case.

Taufiquddin Ahmad, the Editor-in-Chief of local news website ‘Pratibimba Live’, and its News Editor Iqbal were arrested for investigation into the “conspiracy”, while three other employees were detained, Guwahati City Police Commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta told PTI. The three employees who were detained are being interrogated to ascertain their involvement in the case, he said.

The minister told reporters here that this was a clear case of political conspiracy but to “stoop so low and not spare even my minor daughter, reflects a very low mentality”.

“I have been attacked on all fronts by my opponents but when they failed to create any impact, they have

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Guwahati, Feb 17 (PTI): Following Rahul Gandhi’s emphatic assertion that the Congress will not implement Citizenship (Amendment) Act if voted to power in Assam, the state unit of the party Wednesday urged cadres to collect ‘Gamochas’ (Assamese scarf) with messages against the Act. The gamochas (traditional white and red woven cloth offered as an honour in Assam) collected as part of the anti-CAA campaign will be displayed at the martyrs memorial to commemorate the protestors against the Act who sacrificed their lives that the party proposes to set up in Guwahati if voted to power in the upcoming assembly elections.

“I request all Assamese to share gamochas with a message on why you do not want the CAA in the state.

Correspondent

2 Assam journalists arrested, 3 others detained for ‘maligning’ Himanta

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After Rahul Gandhi's no CAA call, the Assam unit of the Congress is devising programmes to make the contentious citizenship law an important election issue.

that issues of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and unemployment are no more poll issues in the state.

But, the Cong ress which has formed a Grand Alliance with AIUDF and four other parties against the BJP for the state polls, has signalled that it would rake up the CAA issue prominently in the Assam assembly elections.

PCC chief Bora said that CAA shall be rooted out and the sacrifices made for saving “Assamese pride” will be immortalised.

The Congress Legislature party leader in the assembly Debabrata Saikia said that the dark days of BJPs oppression of Assamese people are about to end and “we will make sure that CAA is not implemented in Assam”.

The chairman of the Congress campaign committee Pradyut Bordoloi said that people of the state will not forget the bruise that BJP has given to Assamese ethos through its divisive and communal politics.

“Assam, this is your tryst to become a part of history! A gamocha in your name with a message against CAA will find a place at the grand memorial site to be built in Guwahati. As requested by Congress, hurry up & send your gamocha to Assam Congress office,” Bordoloi tweeted.

Meghalaya expects Rs 27 cr from mining lease

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Cong to collect anti-CAA ‘gamochas’

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

GRATITUDE The Old Tesen Village Council would like to appreciate and thank the Tesenlui Council Jalukie Valley for Organizing /Conducting `FREE MEDICAL CAMP` at Old Tesen Village on the 13th of February 2021. More than 120 villagers got medical check-up and treatment from the camp. The medical Team distributed all the medicines free of cost to the patients.

The Village Council expresses their sincere gratitude to Dr Assappe, Dr. Ihube Kauring and Shri Pehiareudi (Medical Team) and Tesenlui Council Jalukie Valley Chairman Shri Keyireuga and his colleagues for distributing Hindi and English Holy Bible. The Village Council also extends their gratitude to all the medicine donors for their valuable contribution for the medical camp.

1. Mr Rinku Debnath, Medicine Representative of Dev Pharmacy(P) Ltd Dimapur 2. Mr Martin Newmai, Noble Pharmaceutical and wholesalers, Dimapur 3. Mr Soran Kar, Proprietor of Paul Pharmaceutical ,Dimapur 4. Mr Joy, Brostin Seizz Biocare, Manufacturer and Company 5. Tablets (India Ltd) 6. Alken Health Science 7. Mankind Pharma Ltd 8. Sanjivani Biotech Private Ltd May the Almighty God bless you all abundantly for your good deed.

NAMPUTLAK Secretary Old Tesen Village Council

IBA ZELIANG Chairman Old Tesen Village Council

DP-946

4

Congress sweeps Punjab civic polls

CHANDIGARH, FEB 17 (PTI): The ruling Congress won six municipal corporations and emerged as the largest party in the seventh, sweeping the urban body polls in Punjab on Wednesday.

The party won Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Abohar, Batala and Pathankot corporations in the civic polls on February 7, held against the backdrop of the farmers’ agitation over the new agri-marketing laws.

In Moga, the party needed victories in six more wards to control the municipal corporation. The Congress also won a majority of the 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, officials said, adding the details would be known later.

Mohali too went to the polls but the counting there will take place Thursday, delayed because of a repoll at two booths.

The outcome comes as a boost to the Congress, which has been backing the protest by farmers – a majority of them from Punjab and Haryana – against the BJP-led government.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar said people

Shiromani Akali Dal’s winning candidates show victory sign after the results of Punjab Municipal Corporation elections were declared, in Amritsar. (PTI)

have rejected the “negative politics” of parties like the BJP, SAD and AAP. He rooted for renomination of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh when assembly elections are held early next year.

“I would like to launch a campaign, ‘Captain for 2022’. Only he can steer the ship of the state through these turbulent times when Punjab is being discriminated against by the BJP-led Centre,” he told reporters.

The CM tweeted, “Today’s results in MC Elections are the victory of each Punjabi. It is very clear

Toolkit case: Nikita gets 3-weeks relief from arrest

Nikita Jacob

mentioned for an urgent hearing on Monday by her lawyers. Simultaneously, the Bombay HC (Aurangabad Bench) on Tuesday granted a 10 days transit bail to Muluk, an engineer from Beed, in the same case.

Jacob and Muluk are among the accused with nonbailable warrants against them in the case involving a ‘toolkit’ shared with global climate campaigner Greta Thunberg in support of the farmers protests in Delhi.

Another accused activist, Disha Ravi was arrested

by Delhi Police and is currently in police custody for five days. The Delhi Police have claimed that Ravi, Jacob and Muluk created the ‘toolkit’ pertaining to the farmers agitation which was shared with Thunberg. A ‘toolkit’ is a series of guidelines suggesting how a particular aim can be achieved.

Toolkits chart out plans of action explaining topics at hand and offers suggestions that could be followed to achieve particular goals.

that people of Punjab want development & will not be fooled by politics of hatred & theatrics.”

Celebrations erupted in the Congress camp with party workers distributing sweets at many places.

The party celebrated the victory in Bathinda, which is Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s constituency. The Congress won 43 wards there and the SAD just seven. Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said Bathinda will now get its first Congress mayor in 53 years. In Moga, the

only corporation among the seven to not deliver a clear verdict, the Congress won 20 of the 50 municipal wards. The SAD got 15, the AamAadmi Party 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party 1 and independents 10.

Moga Congress MLA Harjot Kamal’s wife was among the losers there.

Earlier, the municipal corporations of Moga, Hoshiarpur, Bathinda and Pathankot were run by the SAD-BJP combine, when the two parties were allies and in power in the state.

The elections to municipal corporations of Abohar, Batala and Kapurthala were held for the first time.

The Punjab election campaign was marred by stray clashes between rival party workers with opposition leaders alleging at some places that their candidates were being stopped from filing nomination papers.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal thanked party workers who he said emerged as the “only challengers” to the “corrupt and incompetent Congress”.

Punjab Civic Body Polls Results Party

Municipal Corporations Seats (7/8)

Municipal Councils Seats (97/109)

BJP

0

0

Cong

7

78

SAD

0

5

AAP

0

0

Others

0

14

Court acquits scribe Ramani in MJ Akbar defamation case

Priya Ramani

NEW DELHI, FEB 17 (IANS): A Delhi Court on Wednesday acquitted Journalist Priya Ramani in a criminal defamation case filed by former Union Minister M.J. Akbar for accusing him of sexual misconduct.

In the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, Ramani had made an allegation of sexual harassment against Akbar. Pursuant to this, he filed the criminal defamation case against her and resigned as the Union Minister.

The trial began in 2019

and went on for almost two years.

In 2017, Ramani wrote an article for the Vogue where she described her ordeal of being sexually harassed by a former boss during her job interview for his publication.

One year later, she revealed that the person alluded to as harasser in article was M.J. Akbar.

Akbar told the court that Ramani’s allegations

were fictitious and cost him his stellar reputation.

Priya Ramani, on the other hand, contested these claims, pleaded truth as her defence and said that she made allegations in good faith, public interest, and for public good.

The judgement in the case is important as it sets a precedent for similar cases which arose from the discourse-changing #MeToo movement.

Victory for women & MeToo: Ramani

“It is a victory for women and the MeToo movement. It feels great to have the truth validated before a court of law,” journalist Priya Ramani said minutes after a Delhi court acquitted her in a criminal defamation case filed by former Union Minister M.J. Akbar for accusing him of sexual misconduct.

In the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, Ramani had made allegation of sexual harassment

against Akbar. Pursuant to this, he filed the criminal defamation case against her and resigned as the Union Minister.

“There was a lot of anxiety, stress and fear as a powerful man took me to court. My reputation is much better than his and everybody believed me,” she said after the pronouncement of judgement.

It was reported that “a battery of 97 lawyers” was defending Akbar.

‘I forgive’, says Rahul Gandhi on his father Rajiv Gandhi’s killers PUDUCHERRY, FEB 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the killing of his father Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 brought him tremendous pain but he nursed no anger or hatred towards those responsible for it.

During an interaction the Congress MP had with students of a state-run women’s college here, a pupil posed,” your father was killed by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) what are your feelings about these people? and he answered by saying violence cannot take away anything.

“I don’t have anger or hatred towards anybody.

Of course, I lost my father and for me it was a very difficult time,” he said, adding, it was similar to having one’s heart severed.

“I felt trememdous pain, but I don’t feel anger, I don’t feel any hatred or any anger. I forgive,” he said to rounds of applause.

To the next question, he said “violence cannot take away anything from you... my father is alive in me...my father is talking

After party, 105 residents of B’luru test Covid positive Bengaluru, Feb.17 (AGENCIES): At least 105 residents of an apartment complex in Bengaluru’s Bommanahalli have been found to be COVID-19 positive after they attended a party hosted in the complex. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) began testing the residents after being notified of coronavirus cases on February 12. The number rose to 105 on Monday, according to BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad. “The number of cases has risen to 105. We are taking all the measures to control further spread of the coronavirus. We have also called a meeting of citizens’ groups of the city to discuss how the spread can be controlled among the people,” Prasad said.

The civic body was going to test 200 more residents on Tuesday.

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MUMBAI, FEB 17 (IANS/ AGENCIES): The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted three weeks transit anticipatory bail to Mumbai-based activist lawyer Nikita Jacob in connection with the farmers’ protest ‘toolkit’ case.

The relief by Justice P.D. Naik came in her plea against a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against her and another activist Shantanu Muluk, by Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court.

The high court had reserved its order on Jacob when the matter was heard here on Tuesday after it was

5

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

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SAINIK SCHOOL PUNGLWA(NAGALAND) (UNDER THE AEGIS OF MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, GOVT OF INDIA) DIST – PEREN NOTICE INVITING TENDER: SL. SSPN/QM/311/TDR-10 /2020-21 DATED 17 FEB 21

VACANCY ASSAM RIFLES PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHIESWEMA (NAGALAND) 1. Applications are invited for filling up the following posts in Assam Rifles Primary School, Chieswema (Nursery to Class - V) CBSE pattern on temporary basis:(a) Principal. (i) Qualification - Preferably Post Graduate, B. Ed and adequate teaching experience. (ii) Vacancy - 01 (one) (iii) Salary - Rs 15,000/- per month (b) Primary Teacher. (i) Qualification - Graduate, B.Ed with adequate teaching experience. (ii) Vacancy - 04 (four) (iii) Salary - Rs 10,000/- per month (c) Nursery Trained Teacher (NTT). (i) Qualification - Graduate, B. Ed with adequate teaching experience (ii) Vacancy - 03 (three) (iii) Salary - Rs 10,000/- per month 2. Application to be submitted by 10 Mar 2021 at the under mentioned address:Secretary Assam Rifles Primary School Chieswema, Nagaland Date of Interview - Being intimated latter on/ telephonically.

Venue - Administrative Block Bn HQ, 14 Assam Rifles Chieswema (Nagaland) Contact No. - 8787565099/ 7002285549 (Ajeet Singh Maurya) Major Offg Second-in-Command for Commandant K-397

1. Tenders in Sealed Envelopes are invited from adequately experienced Vendors/ contractors with proven record for providing the following services to the School at its Campus subject to applicable conditions.

Ser Particulars EMD TENDER FORM FEE (a) Construction of Car parking shed Rs 10,500.00 100.00 (b) Construction of retention wall Rs 30,000.00 100.00 near War Trophy (c) Marble flooring of NDA Block Rs 73,200.00 100.00 2. Tender forms (RFPs) /quotations forms & details with instructions may be downloaded from the School web-site http://www.sainikschoolpunglwa. nic.in & Central Public Procurement Portal eprocure.gov.in Tender will be opened at 1200hrs on 10 Mar 2021

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Principal Phone number – 03839-262002/262004

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Rahul Gandhi (PTI)

through me.”

Gandhi interacted with students of Bharathidasan Government College for Women following a dialogue with people from the fishermen community.

Though most parties supported the release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) had opposed it.

Rajiv Gandhi was killed on May 21, 1991 by a woman suicide bomber at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in a poll rally.

TNCC chief K S Ala-

giri had said a few months ago that if the Rajiv case case convicts were to be set free, a demand would arise for the release of all “murder convicts” who had spent over 25 years in prison.

“If the court announces the release of seven Rajiv case convicts, we will accept it. However, political parties rooting for their release is unacceptable,” Alagiri had said.

The Tamil Nadu government had in 2018 recommended to Governor Banwarilal Purohit to release them.

Stop ‘fuel loot’: Cong on rising petrol, diesel prices NEW DELHI, FEB 17 (IANS): After calling the rising fuel prices as “Modi tax”, the Congress on Wednesday again attacked the Centre, terming it as ‘fuel loot’.

Congress Chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “BJP should stop the fuel loot.”

He said in a tweet: “Petrol-Diesel rise for the 9th consecutive day. Modi Govt seeks to recover Rs 2,00,000 CRORE in FY 21 alone. “Daily increase is happening owing to ‘Modi Tax’ of Rs 23.78/litre (Petrol) & Rs 28.37/litre (Diesel) hike in last 6 years.”

The Congress has been demanding the withdrawal of taxes on petrol and diesel that the Centre has imposed over the last 6.8 years. “This in itself will reduce petrol price to Rs 61.92 per litre and diesel price to Rs 47.51 per litre. Every common Indian deserves this relief

immediately,” the party said earlier. “In the last 6.8 years, the government has earned over Rs 20 lakh crore by imposing additional excise duty on petrol and diesel. In May 2014, the international crude oil price was $108 per barrel and petrol was selling at Rs 71.51 per litre in Delhi, while diesel was selling at Rs 57.28 per litre in Delhi.

“The inter national crude oil price as on February 1 was $54.41 per barrel and yet as of today, the price of petrol is Rs 89.29 per litre in Delhi whereas diesel is selling at Rs 79.70 per litre. Over the last six years, the additional excise burden -- Modi Tax -- on the common consumer has been increased by Rs 23.78 per litre on petrol and by Rs 28.37 per litre on diesel -- 820 per cent on diesel and 258 per cent on petrol,” said the Congress statement on Tuesday.

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OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post

Post-mortem

Vol. XXxI NO. 73 Dimapur, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Perpetual threat on Manipur media

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o newspaper hit the stands and local television channels stopped airing any news or programmes for the fourth day in Manipur as editors and journalists continued to cease work protesting against the attack on a leading Manipuri newspaper office. According to reports, a Chinese-made grenade was hurled at the office of the “Poknapham” newspaper in the heart of Imphal on Saturday evening but did not detonate. CCTV footages reveal that the media house was attacked by a girl, who is yet to be identified. The grenade was lobbed at Poknapham’s office in Imphal West by unidentified miscreants at 6.30 pm on February 13. Police said that if it had blown up, a large number of employees and visitors would have been killed and wounded. To protest the grenade attack, editors and journalists began a cease work on a call by the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors Guild of Manipur (EGM). All cable networks have been blacked out and newspapers are not being circulated after the attack on Poknapham’s office. Manipur chief minister Biren Singh has ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team(SIT). There had been bomb attacks in some newspaper offices in Imphal in the past, triggering protracted protests from the media community. In some cases, editors and journalists were on strike for weeks as they could not make use of the contradictory statements of some terrorist outfits. A total of 32 newspapers, mostly vernacular, are published daily from Manipur and there are several cable based television channels. Manipur media continues to be under threat from various militant groups and despite several occasions when newspapers suspended publication as a sign of protest and resulting in some kind of compromises, nothing much has changed. Militants in Manipur do not hesitate to “take action” against “erring journalists or newspapers” that do not print statements verbatim in the front page. There are too many victims-the people themselves, the loss of constitutional authority and worse, the manner in which the role of the media has been severely dictated by the barrel of the gun. Journalists in Manipur have been protesting the attack on the media by both militants as well as police and security personnel. To those who live outside Manipur, such developments do not seem to impact them since Manipur, tucked away in the eastern most part of the country is too far to be concerned about. Besides militants, there are also those who feel they can and should tell the media how to do the job. Other media establishments in the region need to express solidarity with each other so that they can send a strong message. In the light of the above, it is up to people to ensure that the media is allowed to function in a free and fair manner in the interest of all. In fact, it is society that owes much to the press for the yeoman services rendered, despite severe limitations and difficult situations. Unless the appreciation in the form of tolerance to criticisms etc are absent, the fourth estate would fall into the hands of vested interests and the biggest losers will be the people and democratic institutions.

DailyDevotion Taking the Initiative Against Depression

Arise and eat. —1 Kings 19:5 The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive— only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death.

Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things— things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression.

But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it.

But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

Quotes

Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure. ~ Meister Eckhart

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

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he arrest of climate activist Disha Ravi on the charge of sharing a protest “toolkit” and the burning of posters and effigies of Greta Thunberg carries ominous messages beyond the obvious ones relating to dissent and freedom of speech.

One does not have to agree with the nature of Greta Thunberg’s environmental activism to conclude that reactions to her tweeted support for the farmers’ agitation reveal some deeply troubling aspects about gender in Indian society.

You do not even have to be supportive of the cause of the farmers to think that our public culture has mutated to a particular level of toxic masculinity.

If the sight of a group of men torching images and effigies of a young woman does not make our stomachs churn, then, perhaps, we have become completely habituated to the idea of violence against women and past efforts to address the issues have been in vain.

In the not-too-distant past, the so-called sati of 18-year-old Roop Kanwar led to the passing of the Rajasthan Sati (Prevention) Act of 1987. The Act was the end result of a great deal of debate,

Gender and Punishment

discussion and agitation that focussed on the forms of gender discrimination that normalised violence against women in the name of tradition. Eight months after her marriage, Roop Kanwar’s husband Maal Singh passed away and the young woman faced a horrific fate at her husband’s pyre. One of the key aspects of the Act was to make punishable activities that “glorified” the fundamental aspect of sati — setting a woman on fire.

The Act recognised that beyond the actual horrific nature of the deed itself, its afterlife — in popular culture and religious observances, for example — served as justification of violence against women. It recognised that, in addition to actual violence, symbolic violence is a significant factor in reproducing unacceptable ideas about women and their “place” in society.

If unwilling women were sent to a public death on their husbands’ funeral pyres, they did not fare much better in private life.

The fires of the family kitchen — otherwise symbols of comfort and sustenance — have been made accomplices in peculiarly Indian dramas of domestic

horror, homicide and human greed. Bride-burning constitutes the most frequent method of the killing of women whose families have not been able to fulfil dowry demands. It continues to be a fact of life that many women who are first imagined as cash cows are, when their families are unable to pay up, turned to embers and ash. With new consumer cultures and grander aspirations for material advancement, this tendency has, if anything, deepened.

Of course, women are set alight not just for money but also in the aftermath of rape. In December 2019, a young woman who was on way to the police station in Unnao to testify against her rapists was set alight by those she had accused.

In the same month, a veterinary doctor was raped, strangled and her body set alight in Hyderabad and a teenager in a village in Bihar died of her burn injuries after being torched when she resisted rape.

Violence against women extends beyond dousing them in kerosene and setting them alight.

There are many ways — hanging, drowning, being pushed from a balcony — through which death takes on a very public face.

The recognition of dowryrelated death as a legal offence is also a recognition of the deep-rooted nature of violence against women and the unequivocal need to both punish it and provide deterrence.

The burning of Greta Thunberg’s posters and effigies should alarm us as these disturbing tendencies continue to break the surface of our collective consciousness. And, though effigy burning has a long tradition in India, torching the female form as a type of public protest carries very different meaning as compared to the male one.

It comes with its own history of symbolic violence and masculine anxieties.

When male protestors burn effigies of other men, the act has no relation to what actually happens to men in real life. The symbol of the burning woman, on the other hand, has a long history and carries a very different set of meanings.

The sight of male protestors burning effigies and posters of women is an image that should cause deep unease to anyone concerned about the ways in which images of gendered violence circulate and come to be regarded as unremarkable. The fact is that it is not just an-

other way of protesting.

It would be unthinkable, for example, for white protestors in the United States who disagree with African-Americans fighting for racial inequality to carry effigies of black men hanging from trees. And yet, that is exactly what the symbolism of the burning woman in India is. It represents a horrifying aspect of gender relations and must never be tolerated.

Apart from the immediate provocation — the farmers’ agitation — the burning of Thunberg’s images is also occasioned by additional factors. And this should also make us think about other kinds of malaise that afflicts us and what such forms of protesting might mean.

The symbolic burning of public women also represents rising masculine anxiety regarding women who are seen to be independent and willing to engage in public debates.

While there is growing acceptance that women should have the same opportunities as men in, say, the fields of education and jobs, there is the continuing expectation that the educated and employed women must nevertheless prioritise the home and “domestic duties”. Educa-

tion and employment are still not seen as a way of ensuring women’s autonomy but, rather, as adding to the household income and material prosperity.

Our public spheres are heavily masculinised and the women who do not stick to the cultural norms of where they “actually” belong are both derided and, frequently, punished.

The punishment is both actual and symbolic.

It is not unusual to hear men sympathise on behalf of a rape victim but also ask if it is proper for a woman to be, say, out at night by herself as a man might. The burning of Thunberg’s images and the lack of protest against Disha Ravi’s arrest are symbolic warnings of the possible fate that awaits the woman seen as “too independent”.

It is easy to dismiss effigy-burning as just another form of protest that has been long prevalent in India. But that is also to dismiss the nature of our social relations and the ways in which they are expressed in the language of gender. The symbolic and the actual are deeply entangled.

Sanjay Srivastava The writer is a sociologist

Call for volunteers or vigilantes? NMA memorandum to Governor

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he Naga Mothers’ Draconian Armed Forces 3. That, all Nagas, be it n his inaugural address State cannot simply func- tions, and they can end up govt. servants, civil society Association (NMA) Special Powers Act still as the 35th President tion based on appeals to the being a secret police reportseek to draw your in force since 1958, army or individuals are answerof the United States ethical and moral values of ing and ratting on people.

America on January 20, citizens. It must adequately Such enlistment takes us immediate attention on atrocities on our people and able in case of any controversial issue, to their Clan, 1961, John F Kennedy provide finances that can into the dark territory of a the recent directive to the a long drawn out peace pro- Khel, Village and Tribe. Our Chief Secretary from your cess, it has been the wish of spoke these famous words, fund various social sector “surveillance state.” customs and tradition hold It is true that social Esteemed Office, on State all, to ensure that long last- sway on codes of ethics and “Ask not what your coun- programmes that are aimed government servants and ing peace and a resolution try can do for you, ask to benefit the vulnerable media has been excessively honour and loyalty to our what you can do for your and the downtrodden. Phi- infected with hate speech Sedition. The silence of on the Naga Political Issue land and our people. country.” This was the call lanthropy, charity, sacrifice and speech that can in- State Govt. Service Associa- is done at the earliest.

Therefore, we urge 2. That, the targetby a charismatic leader for and volunteerism can coex- cite violence, bigotry and tions in the public domain your Esteemed Office, caron this latest directive has ing of Dr. Inato Jimomi, a public action. Kennedy ist, but cannot be at the cost cause disorder. But it is rying the huge responsibility appealed to Americans to of replacing or reducing the up to the State to set up been deafening. Therefore, dedicated Veterinary Doctor of Peace Interlocutor, for as concerned mothers, who by profession and a noted mechanisms to regulate think beyond themselves obligation of the State. are bona fide citizens of social worker is of serious maturity, unbiased commitfor a larger cause. In InThe State’s functions content on social media, the State, the NMA is con- concern. He comes from ment to peace and a better dia, too, we remember the and obligations are even and indeed this is the way strained to state the fol- a childhood, whose father understanding of the Naga appeal of Prime Minister more critical in the areas of things are evolving in many society. We have an elected lowing: was killed by Indian armed State Government, who Lal Bahadur Shastri to fel- law and order. For instance, countries. Also, it is up to 1. That, notwithstand- forces while serving in the low Indians to give up one as the saying goes, “you the State to identify those ing State Service Conduct Naga army, near Thewati we believe will stand for meal a week, considering cannot take the law into responsible for criminal Rules, the fundamental in Pochury area under Me- propriety and impartiality, nnational shortages and your own hands.” Nor can offences on social media right of every citizen, be luri Sub-Division. He has without vested witch huntfood inflation. In response the State enlist private citi- and cannot ask volunteers it State Govt. employee worked tirelessly for Naga ing, in the midst of fervent movements of most Nagas to that appeal, thousands, zens to discharge functions to do this job.

Moreover, curtailing or otherwise, cannot be widows and orphans of to bring peace into our land. perhaps even millions of that relate to enforcing law stifled or threatened in any the Naga struggle and often Indians, responded spon- and order. This is a very hate speech is always a dic- democracy. The freedom aired his personal views on May we remind the Hon’ble taneously, and to this day dicey proposition. In Ma- ey proposition as it should of Expression guaranteed the Naga struggle and the Governor, that you are an there are people who ob- harashtra, there has been not end up infringing on the under the Constitution is long drawn out search for honoured Guest in our Land and therefore mutual respect serve a weekly fast, in re- an experiment to enlist fundamental right to free also applicable to State govt. peace, which cannot must be maintained. membrance of that noble cleanliness marshals who speech. Hence, it cannot be servants, to air their views to be termed as Sedition. The appeal. are authorised to impose a left to private citizens who higher authorities or in the recent featured article/blog Abei-u Meru, President, Naga Mothers’ President Abdul Ka- fine on the spot for littering, may have an incentive to public domain. In the con- post on Dr. Inato Jimomi by Association wrongfully implicate othlam, too, launched an an- spitting, etc. text of Nagas, caught in the journalist and publisher Rita Sarah Nuh, Vice Presiers.

A related development ti-corruption movement, At the extreme of this decades of armed struggle Krocha is enclosed for your dent, Naga Mothers’ especially for the youth, continuum is the case of is a recent facility launched for self-determination, the perusal, as Annexure A. Association called “What can I give” Salwa Judum, a private by the Income Tax department.

This allows people campaign. This, too, was militia deployed for anti-inan appeal to ethical values, surgency movement against to provide a tip-off about and the spirit of giving, Naxalites, with the bless- undisclosed foreign assets, rather than taking. Prime ing, backing and training benami properties, or tax Minister Narendra Modi by the State. The Supreme evasion. There is now a t refers to Supreme Court verdict dated Moreover in case Single or Division Bench often exhorts people on Court passed an order in link on the e-filing portal 12.02.2021 by its Division Bench dis- of High Court or Supreme Court desires of the department and it such things as the ‘Give Up’ 2011 essentially outlawing missing order of Division Bench of matter to be heard by a larger bench, then LPG subsidy campaign. the outfit. From cleanliness also allows the informer to Himachal Pradesh High Court which has decision in this regard should be taken remain anonymous.

This was to enable the marshals to private militia compulsorily maximum within one month A unique complaint ordered that single-bench order of the High of first hearing of the case. Ultimate decigovernment to provide up is a long road, and that road Court was not valid because of delay in number is generated. This, to 80 million cooking gas is slippery. judgment-delivery where the single bench sion on long pending cases WPC 32855 and connections to households It is in this context that too, has shades of a surveil- took more than nine months to deliver the 32856 of 2009 before Supreme Court by a from the lower-income one must view and express lance state going down a judgement after completion of hearing. five-member Constitution Bench ultimately strata, providing consider- concern about a recent slippery road. Is it not again Supreme Court held that timeline for pro- came on 13.11.2019 that too because the able health benefits and initiative of the Union a case of the State passing nouncement of judgment in order XXCPC then Chief Justice of India heading the bench was to retire on 17.11.2019. It was empowerment, especially Home Ministry. Its cyber- on its function of chasing does not apply to High Courts.

Justice delayed is justice denied. In not only because the final verdict came to women. crime cell has started a new tax-evaders to informers Rather than depend programme under which who may be motivated by case rules of timely delivery of judgements seven months of completion of arguments only on aggregate tax col- citizens can participate as malice? Asking citizens to presently do not apply to High Courts but also because necessity of formation of first a three-member bench and then lections to pay for this volunteers to identify flag volunteer in the giant en- and Supreme Court, then rules must be a Constitution Bench after initial hearing made to fix some reasonable time-limit terprise of national developsocial scheme, the PM and report to the governdone by a Division Bench. asked his fellow Indians ment illegal and unlawful ment by making individual for pronouncement of judgements by SuSubhash Chandra Agrawal preme Court and High Courts within sacrifices or through positive who could afford to join in content including child (Guinness Record Holder & RTI Cona time-bound period of say maximum actions like donations is one the enterprise. In fact, the pornography, rape, terrorsultant) three months after completion of hearing. scheme also had a feature ism, radicalisation and anti- thing. But asking volunteers to secretly or anonymously wherein the donor could national activities. This is a see where the subsidy that pilot project which is being spy on fellow citizens, behe or she gave up had been launched only in Jammu come de-facto vigilantes directed. & Kashmir and Tripura and help in law-enforcement The appeal for do- and may later be extended without any accountability, nations for Covid relief to other states. This ‘cyber is quite another. It will lead to the PM Cares Fund, volunteer’ project is a far to greater distrust and fear. Sir, too, garnered significant cry from the spirit of volun- The very foundation of a As we have faced a huge outbreak of COVID-19 around the world. The world amounts. That fund will teerism sought by Kennedy. robustly functioning de- was completely locked down for some few months. No vehicles were allowed unless now be used to pay for This enlistment can poten- mocracy is a high degree of emergency and the pollution seemed to improve and we even experienced good quality vaccinations, as reported by tially grant extraordinary social capital and trust. Let air for the past few months. As the situation is getting better, vehicle are permitted to be used and hence it has started to produce more pollution and the quality of the air the Union Health Minister. destructive powers to these us not jeopardise that. changed as it used to be before. Therefore, it will be great if we grabbed the attention Ajit Ranade However, that fund is not so-called cyber volunteers subject to scrutiny under who can become a vigilante (The writer is an economist of the people in the topic of air pollution and the importance of planting more trees for the safety of our future generations. and Senior Fellow, Takthe Right to Information. force. There seems to be no shashila Institution) Of course, the modern accountability for their acSunep Ao Reader’s note: Articles or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.

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Time-bound verdicts necessary at High Courts and Supreme Court

Reader’s Post Plant more trees

Do facts really not care about your feelings?

Post 2016, there was a new and unprecedented flow of information that anyone simply couldn’t have foreseen or estimate its ramifications. This was facilitated mostly by the cheap, affordable data plans and handsets late 2016 and it has dramatically changed the way we consume news and entertainment; from music, movies, social media to food and more importantly news media. The average data consumption per person in India skyrocketed to 11 GB, the information revolution certainly did come unannounced. Societal and cultural shift as a result of this explosive amount of information is too broad to get into and will probably require a thesis with undecipherable jargon so if brevity permits, it’s worthwhile to talk about a burgeoning phenomenon that is rapidly shaping our psyche and worldview, especially the young: An increased interest in US politics and their culture war dynamics. Perhaps a lot of it has to do with our own conventionally conservative upbringing but US politics especially conservative/right wing political commentary and knee jerk reactions to cultural outliers have found a fertile ground and strong resonance among Nagas

who spend more and more time online. It’s very hard not to come across Nagas in their early 20’s or older not defer to a YouTube commentator or a media personality with enormous following (your Petersons and Shapiros) who has significantly shaped their views about wide ranging topics from electoral politics to culture. For the uninitiated, it’s helpful to note that most of this sudden interest came about with the US election of Trump as President and the reactionary populistwave he aroused, ultimately usurping power and completely changing the political landscape. With the surge of online political commentators it was suddenly cool and savvy to own hysterical and sanctimonious, “feminazis”, “SJW’s”, “leftist communist marxist post-modernists” and whatever combination of pejorative buzzword have you. People loved it, there was a cathartic element to it and it was an algorithmic stroke of genius from the social media companies as they found a way to keep users on their platform seamlessly glued to the screen, clicking away, video after v i d e o, o w n a g e a f t e r ownage, ‘destroys’ after ‘destroys’. The result is a remarkable spike in interest

in a culture war dynamic and political process as a whole and often, strong opinions on sensitive cultural issues ranging from cogent to gibberish with provocative language are elicited. And this is evident as most opinions on many contentious issues such as gender equality, minority rights, social justice, welfare, political philosophy, and free speech are verbatim; “Socialism has never worked before”, “There are only two genders”, “Feminism is cancer”, “Free speech is under attack”, “1984 is here” etc., are some of the greatest hits.

If you have never come across any of these, you must be living under a digital rock and must have never visited an online thread or a facebook group with political or social commentary. What people consume online, whom they prefer to get their news from, how often they plug into a YouTube channel or a facebook page is completely their prerogative and none of anyone’s business and it’s good to see people become politically conscious. But how we consume the information, critically or uncritically with the relevant context that’s more important here because it crucially shapes the way we think, behave, derive values and make life

decisions. Our ethics, views, values and conduct should be directly related and informed by our immediate surroundings. Yes, our culture is heavily influenced by foreign imports, especially from the US. Kpop, Netflix shows and Spotify playlists are ubiquitous and they almost entirely dictate the way we behave, dress and socialize.

So it’s important that we critically interpret, contextualize and apply them without eating them up as it is and regurgitating them word for word with such bravado. For instance, has feminism gone too far because a certain political pundit told me so when we live in a state which has no women elected in the legislative assembly and some if not many communities still bar and discourage women from holding executive office? Is socialism or any government assistance bad when I live in a country with people so dependent on government programmes, schemes and stipends? Is a philosophy of “Rugged individualism,” personal responsibility and dictums such as “Pick yourself up by the bootstraps” important or even relevant when I was raised by people and have ancestors with such a close knit sense of community, togetherness and clanship

that passes down values, heritage, etiquettes and practices from generation to generation? Is affirmative action bad when most of us are beneficiaries of ST reservation in colleges or jobs? Is every welfare program for the rural populace that helps my grandparents in the village with much needed assistance for subsistence (PM Kisan, MGNREGA, PM AwasYojana, Ayushman Bharat) and livelihood bad because it’s governmental overreach and big government sucks? Are we spending too much time debating a niche cultural issue overseas regarding gender or sexuality such as a man putting on a dress which is carefully crafted by a magazine/advertisement agency to invoke conversation or controversy to increase its circulation/sales that will probably have no bearing on our lives whatsoever but ultimately make the company richer? Are LGBT rights a threat to the nuclear family or social fabric when we are all one major illness or diagnosis away from medical bankruptcy that devastates families and have us scampering to the nearest metro city for treatment because we have no proper medical infrastructure and when rampant unemployment is the main obstacle to starting fami-

lies? Are we assigning a disproportionate amount of moral panic to every unconventional music or video and deeming it an existential civilizational threat when we are witnessing an insurmountable amount of income inequality where the top rich percentile has amassed such wealth as many times as the bottom majority of the human race and are left squabbling for marginal gains? Is an ideology like ‘Socialism’ and its interpretation in the west which has been misconstrued, mischaracterized, brutalized beyond meaning, having a myriad of applications (depending on whichever continent you’re in) completely irrelevant to a country like ours which was founded with welfare programmes as a guiding principle to uplift the poor (two-thirds of people in India live in poverty)?

Should our moral and religious values or convictions hinge on a inflammatory politician like Trump who has used the evangelical community solely for its vote? Or are our values, religious or otherwise, larger than any politician or public figure? Do they endure and stand the test of time and circumstance? Are we reading too much into a political scandal millions of miles away

when we have a plethora of issues in our own backyard that needs dire attention? From the highest unemployment rate in the country, high HIV positivity rate, shortage of basic amenities for livelihood and perpetual political uncertainty. Yes, the US elections are consequential and its affects are wide ranging but how it implicates us and to what extent, their relevance or compatibility with our country, our takeaways and how much we inculcate them in our culture as well as influence conversation is the more important subject. But if your introduction to the political landscape was as recent as 2016 and stay informed by watching videos of histrionic political drama overseas, chances are your views and opinions on current events and politics in general are highly skewed, ahistorical, incoherent, infantile or completely irrelevant to circumstances at home. This is not to undermine your comprehensive and cognitive capabilities but a critique of media consumption which often tends to be uncritical and reaffirms our preconceived, often prejudiced notions about people and their motives. This has a lot to do with our education which does not priorities critical thinking,

analysis and lacks historical context. To reiterate, your politics, values and convictions should be informed by your immediate surroundings. Are our elected representatives accountable to us and do they uphold our will or are they solely driven by money?

Are our hospitals, schools public institutions wellfunded, functional and efficient? What is the state of science tech and innovation in our land? How many people die of illness because they can’t afford treatment and why do we always have to go to metro cities for better treatment?

Are students in the village equipped with enough teachers? Are basic amenities like water and electricity accessible to all? What percentage of central and state funds are being misused and misappropriated?

Until and unless we seek the answers to address such pressing issues at home and allocate due attention, I’m afraid we’d be equipped with the wrong tools to find enduring solutions to a beleaguered state like ours and leave the younger generation much to be wanting.

- Benri Naga, Kohima

business

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Govt invites suggestions Rupee falls by 5 paise to 72.74 on blue economy policy

Crossword

Su doku

KAKURO

No. 9836 Yesterday’s solution No. 9835

No. 4455 Yesterday’s solution No. 4454

No. 3479 Yesterday’s solution No. 3478

Across 3. Backhander (5) 8. Mother-of-pearl (5) 10. Abundant (5) 11. Lav (3) 12. Girl's name (5) 13. Small falcon (7) 15. Plunges (5) 18. Jump on one foot (3) 19. Noiseless (6) 21. Seek new members (7) 22. Finished (4) 23. Insult deliberately (4) 24. Helps (7) 26. Tolerates (6) 29. Hawaiian garland (3) 31. Large passenger ship (5) 32. School bag (7) 34. Adder (5) 35. Equipment (3) 36. Bulgarian capital (5) 37. Landing pier (5) 38. Beast of burden (5) Down 1. Manservant (5) 2. Male sibling (7) 4. Complain bitterly (4) 5. Brigand (6) 6. Electronic message (1-4) 7. Foreign (5) 9. Lettuce (3) 12. Push down (7) 14. Legendary bird (3) 16. Blood vessels (5) 17. Counterfoils (5) 19. Alike (7) 20. Faithful (5) 21. Tree sap (5) 23. Adhesive label (7) 24. Antenna (6) 25. Suite (3) 27. Intolerant person (5) 28. Satan (5) 30. Trivial (5) 32. Appear (4) 33. Strike (3)

umbudur, Tamil Nadu.

In CY2020, the company achieved its highest ever market share of 17.4 per cent. Besides, Hyundai has surpassed the 3 million vehicle export milestone in 2020.

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New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): Hyundai Motor India has sold over 9 million cars since its inception 25 years ago.

Accordingly, 2021 marks 25 years of company’s presence in India.

“Envisioning India at the heart of global manufacturing and commerce, Hyundai, began its journey with the country 25 years ago towards a mutual progress,” S.S. Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India was quoted as saying in a statement. “Today, it gives us immense pride to have come this far together, developing a sustainable and thriving ecosystem leading to collective evolution of the Indian Automotive Industry.”

On May 6, 1996, HMIL officials laid the foundation of Hyundai Motor India’s manufacturing facility at Irungattukkottai in Sriper-

tries & Commerce, Nagaland has been appointed as the nodal department for implementation of Nagaland Startup Policy 2019.

The Incubators will offer incubation space, infrastructure, tools and equipment, services, outreach initiatives, training programs and/or other incubation related events, building the entrepreneurship ecosystem for start ups.

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1. B.Sc (Bio), B.Ed/D.El.Ed 2. B.Com, D.El.Ed 3. Warden (Male) (B.Sc/B.Com) Whatsapp details to 8787676348 (For a School in Dimapur)

LAND FOR SALE

LAND FOR SALE

DP-954

(North East), Sandeep Patro.

The LG Best Shop aims to enhance the shopping experience of sophisticated market, and would serve as a one-stop-shop for all the lifestyle needs of a

Hyundai Motor India sold over 9 mn cars in 25 yrs

Start-up Policy 2019, these Incubators will create enabling environment for start-ups to grow by ensuring knowledge exchange, capacity building, extend mentorship, network & linkages, policy interventions and access to funding in the domains of Technology, Agri & Allied, Mechanical Innovations, Social Start ups, Business Start ups, and more.

Department of Indus-

1. PADUMPUKHURI Near Daily Market (Main Road Touched) 2. AOYIMTI 3. PAGLA PHAAR @Rs. 40/- per sq. ft.

Price Negotiable NO BROKER Contact : 9862954673/9436865033

Land measuring 43200 sq. ft. at Vidima Village No Brokers please only genuine purchasers Contact No. : 9856444585 8415069668 DP-941

Model Colony Purana Bazar 60 x 120 (360 per sq. ft.)

Negotiable Contact : 7005730307

1. 1 Km away from Chathe river bridge between Naga United boundary & Nihoto Village Area : 10,600 sq. ft.

Price : Rs. 165/- per sq. ft. (Nego) 2. Naga United Area : 16,000 sq. ft.

Price : Rs. 225/- per sq. ft. (Nego) Genuine Buyers Only Contact No. : 8413808228

LAND FOR SALE

LAND FOR SALE

DP-908

Dimapur, Feb 17 (NPN): LG Electronics has opened its new “Best Shop” at Nyamo Lotha Road, Dimapur on February 16 after it was inaugurated

by Branch Manager- LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.

D I M A PUR , F e b 1 7 (NPN): With an aim to accelerate and promote entrepreneurship in the state, the Department of Industries and Commerce on Wednesday signed MoUs with YouthNet, National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) and Nagaland Tool-Room & Training Centre (NTTC) to run Incubation Centres.

Under the Nagaland

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Sandeep Patro and others at the inauguration of ‘LG Best Shop’ in Dimapur.

household.

Speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Patro said “It has been our endeavor to create a store that would not only stand out, but also showcase the values of LG brand. Our retail strategy is to be always there for our customers and keeping that in mind, the brand shop is designed to ensure the ultimate retailing experience that synchronizes with the image of innovation, quality and excellence.”

LG Best Shop will provide the company a new communication channel with its trade partners. The LG Best Shop concept was established with the aim of creating a platform to communicate the LG identity.

The objective was not just to attract the impulse buyer, but to also introduce an element of interactivity in the outlet while projecting the identities of LG products.

Incubation centres established under State start-up policy

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LG launches ‘New Best Shop’ in Dimapur

Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu MLA and others at the launching of the new Renault KIGER was launched Wednesday at Renault dealership, Purana Bazar, Dimapur. (NP)

DP-948

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI): Gold in the national capital plunged Rs 717 to Rs 46,102 per 10 gram on Wednesday in line with decline in global precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 46,819 per 10 gram.

Silver also declined Rs 1,274 to Rs 68,239 per kg, from Rs 69,513 per kg in the previous trade.

“Spot gold prices for 24 karat in Delhi plunged Rs 717 in line with decline in global gold prices,” according to HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel.

In the international market, gold was quoting lower at USD 1,786 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 27.10 per ounce.

phy includes 1,382 islands.

There are nearly 199 ports, including 12 major ports that handle approximately 1,400 million tons of cargo each year. Moreover, India’s Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 million square kilometers has a bounty of living and non-living resources with significant recoverable resources such as crude oil and natural gas. Also, the coastal economy sustains over 4 million fisherfolk and coastal communities.

With these vast maritime interests, the blue economy occupies a vital potential position in India’s economic growth. It could well be the next multiplier of GDP and well-being, provided sustainability and socio-economic welfare are kept center-stage.

Therefore, India’s draft blue economy policy is envisaged as a crucial framework towards unlocking country’s potential for economic growth and welfare.

K-391

Gold plunges Rs 717; silver declines Rs 1,274

ments; coastal and deep-sea mining and offshore energy and security, strategic dimensions and international engagement.

India’s blue economy is understood as a subset of the national economy comprising an entire ocean resources system and human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country’s legal jurisdiction. It aids the production of goods and services that have clear linkages with economic growth, environmental sustainability, and national security. The blue economy is a vast socioeconomic opportunity for coastal nations like India to utilize ocean resources for societal benefit responsibly.

With a coastline of nearly 7.5 thousand kilometers, India has a unique maritime position. Nine of its 29 states are coastal, and the nation’s geogra-

afternoon trade supported by the prospects of further economic recovery and a possible acceleration in inflation.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.35 per cent to 90.82. “Today’s Fed minutes will decide whether USDINR spot will appreciate or not because Powell was dovish in his recent speech, if the same is reflected by all the FOMC members then we may see bearishness to continue in USDINR spot,” said Rahul Gupta, Head Of ResearchCurrency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 400.34 points or 0.77 per cent lower at 51,703.83, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 104.55 points or 0.68 per cent to 15,208.90. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,144.09 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

DP-918

NEW DELHI, Feb 17 (Agencies): The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has rolled out the draft blue economy policy in the public domain, inviting suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, academia and citizens.

The draft policy document outlines the vision and strategy that can be adopted by the government to utilise the plethora of oceanic resources available in the country, the Mint reported.

The document has recognised seven thematic areas: national accounting framework for the blue economy and ocean governance; coastal marine spatial planning and tourism; marine fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing; manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development; logistics, infrastructure and shipping, including trans-ship-

Mumbai, Feb 17 (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 5 paise to close at 72.74 against the US dollar on Wednesday tracking losses in the domestic equity markets and strengthening American currency in the global markets.

US bond yields rising to one-year high due to strong recovery prospects also hit the rupee sentiment, analysts said.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.90 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.72 and a low of 72.92. It finally ended at 72.74 against the American currency.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 72.69 against the American currency.

“The Indian r upee depreciated against the US Dollar on Wednesday, tracking a further uptick in the US 10-year yield to a one-year high and a rebound in the Dollar index,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.The US bond yields rose on Wednesday

LAND FOR SALE AT

NIHOTO VILLAGE AREA : 10 PURAS CONTACT : 9863345782

DP-901

8

URGENT SALE

2555 Sq/Mtr. Opposite Mahindra Show Room Near Bethesda Hr. Sec. School Northern Angami Contact : 8317631936 7005415498 DP-910

LOST NOTICE

The Original Sale Deed executed on 17th Day of April, 2018 between Smt. Kaliholi, W/o Late Tokheyi Yeptho, resident of Thahekhu Village, Dimapur, Nagaland and Smt. Kavini A Zhimomi W/o Shri. Atomi K Zhimomi resident of Ikishe Village, Dimapur, Nagaland against the sale of land measuring 8133 sq. ft at Thahekhu Village, Block No-2, Dimapur, Nagaland has been lost.

Hence applying for a new documents.

DP-952

Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Myanmar coup: UN expert fears violence

YANGON, FEB 17 (AP): Demonstrators in Myanmar gathered Wednesday in their largest numbers so far to protest the military’s seizure of power, as a UN human rights expert warned that troops being brought to Yangon and elsewhere could signal the prospect for major violence.

UN rapporteur Tom A n d r ew s s a i d h e wa s alarmed by reports of soldiers being transported into Yangon, the biggest city.

“In the past, such troop movements preceded killings, disappearances, and detentions on a mass scale,” he said in a statement issued late Tuesday by the U.N. Human Rights office in Geneva.

“I am terrified that given the confluence of these two developments- planned mass protests and troops converging - we could be on the precipice of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar.”

Fresh protests roiled Yangon, the second-largest city of Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw, in defiance of an order banning gatherings of five or more people.

“Let’s march en masse.

Let’s show our force against the coup government that has destroyed the future of youth and our country,”

Demonstrators gather close to Sule Pagoda to protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday. (AP/PTI)

Kyi Toe, a spokesman for the National League for Democracy party of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, wrote on his Facebook page.

Wednesday’s turnout in Yangon appeared to be one of the biggest so far in the city. Protesters have adopted a tactic of blocking off streets from security forces by parking vehicles in groups with their hoods up and the excuse of having engine trouble.

In Naypyitaw, thousands including private bank employees and engineers marched down its wide boulevards, chanting for

Rio inaugurates State Data ...

(From p-1) In his address, water resources adviser Namri Nchang complimented the department and all those involved for together putting up the centre.

SDC having now been set up, he urged all line departments to coordinate and work closely, integrate all water-related data on the common platform and make them readily available for use by all stakeholders, private individuals, research

scholars, students, institutes, NGOs and others.

Submitting her technical report, executive engineer-cum-project manager for SDC Wapangnaro Imchen said there was e-tendering in December 2018 and the contract was awarded to M/s Vilelie Khamo & Sons, after which work commenced on August 2, 2019 and completed on November 30 2020. She said the centre was constructed at a cost of Rs 119.76 lakh.

DAPC appeals for repair...

(From p-1) Meanwhile, pointing out that most part of the road in Tuensang side was far worse than the Mokokchung side, the committee has appealed to the responsible authority to start the work from Tuensang town itself.

It also requested the authorities to install all the necessary machineries and start the work from the welcome gate of Tuensang town and complete the works within the stipulated time as given in the work order.

DAPC expressed hope that the matter would be taken seriously and begin the work by second week of March 2021. The committee has assured to extend full cooperation till the completion of the work.

Further, it also urged the national workers or any organizations to restrain from entertaining any kind of taxes from the project.

the release of Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

Protesters also poured into the streets of Mandalay, where on Monday security forces pointed guns at a group of 1,000 demonstrators and attacked them with slingshots and sticks. Local media reported that police also fired rubber bullets into a crowd and that a few people were injured.

The marches have been organized as part of a civil disobedience movement, spearheaded by medical workers and supported by many civil servants.

The Feb. 1 coup has brought an abrupt halt to

Myanmar’s fragile progress toward democracy, as Suu Kyi’s party was about to begin a second five-year term after winning a landslide in November’s election.

The military justified its takeover with allegations of widespread voting irregularities, though the election commission found no evidence of significant fraud. The junta says it will hold power for a year before holding new elections.

Police filed a new charge against Suu Kyi, her lawyer said Tuesday, a move likely to keep her under house arrest and further fuel public anger.

village boundary, they said they suspected that the intruders had come with the intention of grabbing/encroaching the demarcated land by cutting down trees and in the process attacked T Ngolo Koza, who was deputed by the administration there to control the situation.

Mentioning that the inhuman physical assault and kidnapping took place in broad daylight by overpowering the few stationed Nagaland Police and IRB personnel at the border site, KVC alleged that the victim was dragged and taken away to Manipur with his hands tied from behind and then punched, kicked and beaten with axe butt and lathis. Further, the assailants took him from village to village in Manipur and assaulted him continuously, the statement claimed.

The victim was released towards midnight only after repeated appeals and interventions made by the highest authorities of Nagaland government, Phek district administration and police, community and frontal organisations, etc, but of course after being tortured the whole day.

The DB was later taken to Kohima for medical treat-

Suu Kyi already faced a charge of illegally possessing walkie-talkies. The new charge concerns a law that has been used to prosecute people who have violated coronavirus restrictions, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters after meeting with a judge. It carries a maximum punishment of three years in prison.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a strong denunciation of the legal maneuver against Suu Kyi. “New charges against Aung San Suu Kyi fabricated by the Myanmar military are a clear violation of her human rights,” he tweeted. “We stand with the people of Myanmar and will ensure those responsible for this coup are held to account.”

U. N. s p o k e s m a n Stéphane Dujarric said the world body stood by its denunciation of the coup and has called for charges against Suu Kyi to be dropped and for her to be released.

For a third night in a row, the military ordered an internet blackout — almost entirely blocking online access from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m.

It has also prepared a draft law that would tighten surveillance of cyberspace and criminalize many online activities.

New Zealand ends lockdown after deciding outbreak contained WELLINGTON, FEB 17 (PTI): The nation’s largest city was put into lockdown Sunday after three unexplained cases were found in the community.

A lockdown in the New Zealand city of Auckland will end at midnight, the government announced Wednesday after concluding a coronavirus outbreak had been contained. “This is good news,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

It was the first lockdown in six months in a nation which so far has managed to successfully stamp out the spread of the disease. The move to end the lockdown came as health authorities said the outbreak had grown by three cases to six in total.

But Ms. Ardern said the additional cases were to be expected because they involved close contacts.

Ramped-up testing indicates the outbreak hasn’t

Jacinda Ardern

spread far. Laboratories processed more than 17,000 individual tests on Tuesday, authorities said, and they also tested wastewater samples, which came back negative. “What this tells us is that we don’t have a widespread outbreak, but rather a small chain of transmission which is manageable by our normal contact-tracing and testing procedures,” Ms. Ardern said.

The initial cases were a mother, a father, and their 13-year-old daughter, who

KVC flays assault, abduction

DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): Khezhakeno Village Council (KVC) has strongly condemned the alleged criminal act of kidnapping and physical assault on T Ngolo Koza, dobashi (DB) to extra assistant commissioner, while on official duty in Chida Resort area by villagers of Tungjoy in Manipur led by Tungjoy Village Authority Council chairman Mahru, secretary D Lakhu, Tungjoy Youth president Veinni and GB on February 15.

In a statement, KVC chairman D Lhouchinyi, head GB T Kamo Koza and Khezhakeno Youth Organisation president Senovielhou Koza called upon law enforcing agencies and the government to book all criminals involved in the act and immediately initiate strict action as per the law of the land.

They also condemned the Manipur government for conniving and conspiring in such criminal and illegal activities.

Alleging that around 1,000 villagers from Tungjoy village armed with guns and other weapons and under full protection of Manipur Police intruded into Nagaland, which is also the traditional Khezhakeno

9

international/state

ment.

Stating that this was not the first instance of such a criminal activity, KVC alleged that Tungjoy villagers were regular offenders and known for committing such notorious criminal acts in “our traditional land” since long. It recalled the incident of July 31, 1956 in which they allegedly led Indian Army and Manipur Rifles personnel in illegally torching down the entire Khezhakeno village to ashes, besides shooting dead six villagers, forcing the villagers to live in the wilderness of jungle without proper food and amenities nearly for two years.

“And more recently, they had burnt down our traditional huts constructed during 2018 and 2019 Khezhakeno People’s Festival held under the aegis of Nagaland tourism department.

There are uncountable incidences in the past which we tolerated for long,” the statement specified.

Questioning how long this would continue, KVC pointed out that while they claimed to be fighting for Naga integration too, they were actually trying to grab land, adding “Let us not be fooled anymore.”

As far as the bound-

ary demarcation was concerned, the council said Nagaland’s boundary and Khezhakeno’s traditional village boundary ran along the same line. The council also claimed of having sufficient documentary proof and judgments justifying the “Watershed Principles” of boundary demarcation between the two States since the British-India administration’s survey by Captain Butler and Dr Gordon, which recognised that from Kapamedzü Peak to Telezu Peak “water that falls into Barak river, the land belongs to Tunjoy, Manipur and water that falls into Sidzü will belong to Khezhakeno, Nagaland”.

Subsequent political boundary settlement cases were resolved based on it, the council added.

Citing two political cases and the reaffirmation by chief secretaries of both Manipur and Nagaland in 1982 to adhere to the 1872 survey by Butler and Gordon as final and inalienable vis-à-vis the interState boundary, KVC called upon all right-thinking people and Nagas at large to come together to voice out and protect the rightfully demarcated territory.

attends a local high school.

Health authorities said the three new cases were a high school classmate, who was a close contact of the daughter, and two family members of the classmate.

S e n i o r l aw m a k e r s in the Cabinet who met Wednesday afternoon decided most Aucklanders could go back to work and school from Thursday, but they would still leave some restrictions in place until at least Monday.

Genome testing has shown the family caught a more contagious variant first found in Britain. The mother who caught the disease works at a catering company that does laundry for airlines. Officials have been investigating whether there is any link to infected passengers, but so far haven’t been able to find a direct connection or explain how the outbreak might have begun.

Cambodian PM signs law to manage internet Phnom Penh, Feb 17 (IANS): Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen has signed a subdecree on establishing the National Internet Gateway (NIG) with the aim of facilitating and managing online traffic.

The sub-decree, signed on Tuesday and released to the media on Wednesday, said a NIG operator, which will be appointed by the government, will set up a one-stop system to bring all overseas internet connections through a single point, Xinhua reported.

“The establishment of the NIG is to facilitate and manage domestic and international internet connections, to enhance national revenue collection effectively, to protect national security and to maintain social order,” the sub-decree said.

It added that the NIG operator, in cooperation with relevant authorities, would take action in blocking and disconnecting all network connections that affect national revenue, safety, social order, dignity, culture, tradition and custom.

NAGALAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION NO.NPSC/ADVT-1/04 (vol-1)

KOHIMA

Dated, Kohima, the 17th February, 2021.

ADVERTISEMENT NO. NPSC-1/CTSE/2021

Applications are invited for filling up the following current vacancies under the Government of Nagaland in the manner prescribed below.

Item No.1: 21 (twenty one) posts of Medical Officer (Class-I Gazetted) under Health & Family Welfare Department. {4(four) posts unreserved, 1(one) post each reserved for BT Sangtam, Phom, 2(two) post each reserved for Sumi of Kiphire & Yimchunger and 11(eleven) posts reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland.} Item No.2: (a) 22 (twenty two) posts of SDO (Civil Engineering) (Class-I Gazetted) under Works & Housing Department. {4(four) unreserved 1(one) post each reserved for BT Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Sumi (Kiphire), Sangtam & Phom 12(twelve) posts reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland} (1(one) post reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability). (b) 5(five) posts of Assistant Mechanical Engineer ( Mechanical) (Class-I Gazetted) under Works & Housing Department. {1(one) post unreserved 1(one) post reserved for BT Chang, 3(three) posts reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland} (c) 1(one) post of Assistant Architect (Class-I Gazetted) under Works & Housing Department.

(Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland} (d) 1(one) post of Junior Architect ( Class – II Gazetted) under Works & Housing Department.

(Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland} (e) 44 (forty four) posts of Junior Engineer (Civil Engineering) (Class-II Gazetted) under Works & Housing Department. (9(nine) posts unreserved 1(one) post each reserved for BT Sumi (Kiphire), Yimchunger, Zeliang, Chang, Khiamniungan, Phom 2(two) posts each reserved for BT Chakhesang & Sangtam 3(three) posts reserved for BT Konyak 22(twenty two) posts reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (2(two) post reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability). (f) 3 (three) posts of Junior Engineer (Mech) ( Class – II Gazetted) under Works & Housing Department.

(2(two) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland 1(one) post reserved for BT Zeliang) (1(one) post reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability).

Item No.3: 3 (three) posts of Workshop Superintendent (Grade -A) under Higher & Technical Education Department. (1 (one) post unreserved 1 (one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland 1(one) post reserved for BT Konyak.

Item No.4: (a) 1(one) post of Cameraman (Grade –III (Senior) under Arts & Culture Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (b) 1(one) post of Archivist (Class – II (Senior) Gazetted) under Arts & Culture Department. (Reserved for BT Konyak.) (c) 1(one) post of Artist (Class- III Non-Gazetted) under Arts & Culture Department. (Reserved for BT Konyak.)

Item No.5: (a) 2 (two) posts of SDO (Class –I) (Agri/Civil Engineering) under Water Resources Department.

(1 (one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland, 1(one) post reserved for BT Phom) (b) 2 (two) posts of Junior Engineer (Class –II) (Agri/Civil Engineering) under Water Resources Department. (1 (one) post unreserved 1 (one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) Item No.6: (a) 1(one) post of Assistant Engineer (Class- I Gazetted) under Transport Department. (Unreserved) (b) 1(one) post of Junior Engineer (Class-II Gazetted) under Transport Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (c) 1 (one) post of Foreman (Class-III Non-Gazetted) under Transport Department. (Reserved for BT Sangtam) Item No.7: (a) 3 (three) posts of SDO (Electrical Engineering) (Group-A) under Power Department. 1(one) post unreserved 1(one) post reserved for BT Chakhesang 1(one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (b) 2 (two) posts of SDO (Civil Engineering) (Group-A) under Power Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (c) 33 (thirty three) posts of Junior Engineer (Electrical Engineering) (Group-B) under Power Department. . {6(six) posts unreserved 1(one) post each reserved for BT Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Sumi of Kiphire, Phom, Sangtam, 2(two) posts each reserved for BT Zeliang & Yimchunger 17(seventeen) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (d) 2 (two) posts of Junior Engineer (Civil Engineering) (Group-B) under Power Department. (1(one) post unreserved) 1 (one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland, (e) 1 (one) post of Junior Engineer (IT/Communication) (Group-B) under Power Department.

(Reserved for BT Sangtam) (f) 1(one) post of Junior Engineer (MIS) (Group-B) under Power Department. (Reserved for BT Sangtam) Item No.8: 3(three) posts of Economics & Statistical Officer (Class-I Gazetted) under Economics & Statistics Department. {1(one) post reserved for BT Yimchunger, 2(two) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland Item No.9: 12 (twelve) posts of Assistant Programmer (Class –III Non- Gazetted) under Election Department.

2(two) post unreserved 1(one) post each reserved for BT Konyak, Phom, Sangtam, Chakhesang 6 (six) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland Item No.10: 2(two) posts of Fishery Inspector (Class-III Non - Gazetted) under Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) Item No.11: (a) 2 (two) posts of Assistant Conservator of Forest (Class-I Gazetted) under Environment, Forest & Climate Change Department. Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (b) 2 (two) posts of Forest Ranger (Class-II Gazetted) under Environment, Forest & Climate Change Department. (1(one) post unreserved 1 (one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) Item No.12: (a) 7 (seven) posts of SDO (Civil Engineering) (Class-I Gazetted) under PHE Department. (2(two) post unreserved 3(three) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) 1(one post each reserved for BT Konyak & Sumi of Kiphire) (1(one) post reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability). (b) 5 (five) post of Junior Engineer (Civil Engineering) (Class-II Gazetted) under PHE Department. 1 (one) post unreserved 2(two) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland 1(one) post each reserved for BT Chang & Khiamniungan.

(1(one) post reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability).

Item No.13: 1 (one) post of Project Officer (Class-I Gazetted) under New & Renewable Energy Department.

(Reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability / reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland).

Item No.14: (a) 1(one) posts of Assistant Drilling Engineer (Class – I Gazetted) under Geology & Mining Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (b) 8 (eight) posts of Assistant Geologist (Class - I Gazetted) under Geology & Mining Department.

2 (two) post unreserved 3 (three) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland, 1(one) post each reserved for BT Khiamniungan Konyak & Sumi (Kiphire) (c) 1(one) post of Assistant Mining Engineer (Class - I Gazetted) under Geology & Mining Department.

(Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (d) 1(one) post of Assistant Chemist (Class - I Gazetted) under Geology & Mining Department.

(Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) (e) 2(two) posts of Junior Engineer (Survey) (Class - II Gazetted) under Geology & Mining Department.

(1(one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland & 1(one) post reserved for BT Konyak) Item No.15: (a) 2 (two) posts of Agriculture Officer (Class-II Gazetted) under Department of Agriculture. 1(one) post unreserved 1(one) post reserved for BT Chakhesang, (b) 2 (two) posts of Agriculture Inspector (Class-III Non- Gazetted) under Department of Agriculture.

1(one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland, 1(one) post reserved for BT Chang.

Item No.16: 15 (fifteen) posts of Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (Class-I Gazetted) under Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department. 3(three) post Unreserved 1(one) post each reserved for BT Yimchunger, Zeliang Chakhesang & Chang 8 (Eight) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland.

Item No.17: (a) 3(three) posts of JSCO (Class – II Gazetted) under Soil & Water Conservation Department.

2(two) posts reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland 1(one) post reserved for BT Chakhesang. (b) 1(one) post of ASSO (Class – II Gazetted) under Soil & Water Conservation department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland.) (c) 1(one) post of ARO (Class – II Gazetted) under Soil & Water Conservation department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland.) (d) 1(one) post of Junior Lecturer (Class – II Gazetted) under Soil & Water Conservation department.

(Reserved for BT Khiamniungan)(Reserved for Person with Benchmark Disability) (e) 2(two) posts of Ranger (Class – II Gazetted) under Soil & Water Conservation department.

(1(one) post reserved for BT Sumi (Kiphire) 1(one) post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland Item No.18: 1(one) post of Assistant Programme Officer (Class – II Gazetted) under Rural Development Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) II. With reference to the Commission’s Advertisement No.NPSC-4/2016 dt. 19.10.2016, Advertisement No.NPSC-3/2017 dt. 07.12.2017 & Advertisement No.NPSC-5/2018 dt.20.12.2018 the following backlog vacancies which could not be recommended earlier are hereby re-advertised.

The tribes names mentioned against each post(s) are reserved for the particular backward tribes.

BACKLOG VACANCIES 2016 Item No. 19: 1 (one) post of Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (Class – I Gazetted) under Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department. (Reserved for B.T. Sumi of Kiphire) Item No. 20: 1 (one) post of Agriculture Marketing Inspector under Agri. Department. (Reserved for B.T. Phom) Item No. 21: 1 (one) post of Foreman under Printing & Stationery Department. (Reserved for B.T. Konyak).

Item No. 22: 2 (two) posts of Extension Officer (Class –III Non Gazetted) under Sericulture Department. (one post each reserved for BT Yimchunger & Zeliang) BACKLOG VACANCIES 2017 Item No. 23: 1 (one) post of Medical Officer under H&FW Department. (Reserved for B.T. Khiamniungan).

Item No. 24: 1 (one) post of Veterinary Assistant Surgeon under Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department.

(Reserved for B.T. Yimchunger) Item No. 25 1 (one) post of Fishery Inspector under Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Department. (Reserved for B.T. Khiamniungan).

Item No. 26 2 (two) post of Demonstrator (Chemistry) under Technical Education Department. (Reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) Item No. 27 2 (two) posts of Demonstrator (Physics) under Technical Education Department. (1 post reserved for B.T. Pochury & 1 post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) Item No. 28 3 (three) posts of Demonstrator (Plumbing Shop) under Technical Education Department.

(1 post each reserved for B.T. Yimchunger & B.T. Zeliang & 1 post reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland)) Item No. 29 3 (three) posts of Demonstrator (Electrical Shop) under Technical Education Department.

(1 post reserved for B.T. Yimchunger & 2(two) posts reserved for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland) Item No. 30 1 (one) post of JE (Civil Engg.) under NPWD. (Reserved for B.T. Sumi of Kiphire).

Item No. 31 1 (one) post of Technical Assistant under Information Technology & Communication Department (Reserved for B.T. Khiamniungan).

BACKLOG VACANCIES 2018 Item No. 32: 1 (one) post of SDO (Electrical Engineering) (Group – A) under Power Department. (Reserved for B.T. Yimchunger) Item No. 33: 1 (one) post of JE (Electrical Engineering) (Group –B) under Power Department. (Reserved for B.T. Yimchunger) Item No. 34: 1 (one) post of Assistant Urban Development Officer (Grade-I) under Urban Development Department.

(Reserved for B.T. Chang) Item No. 35: 1 (one) post of Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (Class – I Gazetted) under Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services Department (Reserved for B.T. Sangtam) Item No. 36: 1 (one) post of Extension Officer (Class – III Non - Gazetted) under Sericulture Department. (Reserved for B.T. Chang) Item No. 37: 1 (one) post of Motor Vehicle Inspector (Grade – III) under Transport Department. (Reserved for B.T. Zeliang) Item No. 38: 1 (one) post of Agriculture Inspector (Class – III Non - Gazetted) under Agriculture Department.

(Reserved for B.T. Yimchunger) Further details may be checked from the Commission’s website or from Office notice board.

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(JOHN TSULISE SANGTAM), NCS Secretary, Nagaland Public Service Commission, Kohima.

Infotainment

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Thee Stallion says she’s on track Bezos back as world’s richest Miss India runners-up arrives Megan to get her university degree this year man as Musk loses $4.6B in her father’s autorickshaw

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e c e n t l y, M a n ya Singh won hearts when she was named the runner-up for VLCC Femina Miss India 2020.

From being the daughter of an auto rickshaw driver to a runner up at a beauty pageant, her journey has become the talking point around the country.

Singh was invited to a felicitation ceremony by her alma mater, Thakur College of Science and Commerce in Mumbai. She arrived at the event in her father, Omprakash Singh’s auto with him leading a grand auto rally.

As Manya and her family were welcomed into the college, her parents got emotional. At the venue, Manya was clicked wiping away her father’s tears and seeking blessings from her mother. Photos and videos of the event and Singh’s arrival were shared on Instagram by Miss India’s official handle.

Singh also shared a snippet from the moment on her Instagram: Overcoming innu-

merable struggles, Manya bagged the runner-up title of the prestigious Femina Miss India beauty pageant.

The beauty pageant was held on the night of February 9. Telangana’s Manasa Varanasi won the title Femina Miss India 2020 while ManikaSheokand from Haryana bagged the Femina Miss Grand India 2020 title.

In a post shared by the official Instagram account of Femina Miss India in December 2020, Mansi described the hurdles she had to overcome for completing her studies. She used to

study in the day and earned by washing dishes in the evening and working at a call centre at night. According to Manya, her entry into the beauty pageant is to show the world that nothing is impossible if one is committed to their dreams and to uplift her family.

After her victor y, Manya took to Instagram and shared a photograph of her parents where they are holding a newspaper with Manya’s picture after she was crowned. Expressing her gratitude to her parents, she wrote ‘I worship them’ on her Instagram story.

egan Thee Stallion has revealed she is on track to graduate from university with a health administration degree this autumn.

Responding to a nowdeleted tweet, the rapper said “Im abt to Graduate in the fall and still gone open my facility”, referring to the assisted-living facility she has previously said she hopes to open.

“They swore I wasn’t gone get that degree…

SIKE,” she added.

As People reports, Megan was studying health administration full-time at Texas Southern University as her rap career began to take off. She then began taking the course part-time and enrolling in online classes.

The rapper has previously explained how she plans to use the income from her music career to open an assisted-living facility.

Speaking to People in 2020, she said she hopes to enlist the help of her classmates to run the facility.

“I really wanted to be an administrator over a hospital, but I knew I still

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wanted to be Megan Thee Stallion. I was like, ‘What can I do?’” she said.

“I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna open an assisted-living facility and use the money that I make from rapping to open it.

Then I’m gonna let my classmates run it.”

Megan Thee Stallion released her debut album, ‘Good News’, last year.

NME gave the album four stars, with reviewer KyannSian Williams writing that “the 25-year-old combines West Coast samples with the Southern sounds of her youth. The message: she’s staying sunny, despite her setbacks”. (NME)

mazon Founder Jeff Bezos is back as the world’s richest person after Tesla shares fell, resulting in a slight erosion in Elon Musk’ wealth.

Tesla shares were down 2.4 per cent on Tuesday and Musk lost $4.6 billion, slipping to the second position on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 wealthiest people.

Bezos returned as the world’s richest man with a net worth of $191.2 billion.

Last month, Musk became the world’s richest person, as his net worth crossed $185 billion after Tesla’s share price increased.

He took the top spot from Bezos, who had held it since 2017.

Tesla has surged in value this year, and hit a market value of $700 billion last month, making the electric car maker worth more than Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, GM and Ford combined.

Musk’s net worth increased by more than $150

billion and Tesla’s share price surged a massive 743 per cent last year.

Tesla last week announced it has invested $1.5 billion in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

The announcement led to a surge in the price of one Bitcoin, that has even surpassed $50,000 per coin.

Tesla said it will also “begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future.”

After vouching for Bitcoin, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has now said that if major Dogecoin cryptocurrency holders sell their coins, he will give them his full support.

(IANS)

Dwayne Johnson says he would still consider a presidential run in future NASA’s Mars rover ready for landing today D

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ngineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have confirmed that the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is healthy and on target to touch down in Jezero Crater at around 3.55 p.m. EST on February 18.

“Perseveranc e is NASA’s most ambitious Mars rover mission yet, focused scientifically on finding out whether there was ever any life on Mars in the past,” Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“To answer this question, the landing team will have its hands full getting us to Jezero Crater - the most challenging Martian terrain ever targeted for a

landing.”

Jezero is a basin where scientists believe an ancient river flowed into a lake and deposited sediments in a fan shape known as a delta.

Scientists think the environment here was likely to have preserved signs of any life that gained a foothold billions of years ago -- but Jezero also has steep cliffs, sand dunes, and boulder fields.

Landing on Mars is difficult -- only about 50 per cent of all previous Mars landing attempts have succeeded -- and these geological features make it even more so. The Perseverance team is building on lessons from previous touchdowns and employing new technologies that enable the space-

wayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has said he would still consider a presidential run in the future if it’s “what the people wanted”.

Speaking in a new interview, Johnson, who is currently busy promoting Young Rock, his new autobiographical sitcom, said he would be open to taking a run at the White House if the demand for him to do so was there.

“I would consider a presidential run in the future if that’s what the people wanted,” he told USA Today. “Truly I mean that, and I’m not flippant in any way with my answer.

That would be up to the people.”

He added: “So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground.”

Johnson’s comments come after he said back in 2017 that he was “seriously considercraft to target its landing site ing” running for president of the United States. more accurately and avoid He made the revelation during an interview hazards autonomously.

“The Perseverance team is putting the final touches on the complex he trailer of the horror choreography required to comedy Roohi has land in Jezero Crater,” said crossed over 14 milJennifer Trosper, Deputy Project Manager for the lion views in just one day.

The film features Rajkummission at JPL. “No Mars landing is mar Rao, Varun Sharma guaranteed, but we have and Janhvi Kapoor.

The trailer had been been preparing a decade to put this rover’s wheels down released on Tuesday on Youon the surface of Mars and tube and within 24 hours has garnered 14,123,568 get to work.”

People will be able to views. According to the watch the drama of Perse- video streaming website, it verance’s entry, descent, and also trended at number one landing (EDL) -- the riskiest in India. Several Bollywood portion of the rover’s mis- personalities including Aysion that some engineers call ushmaann Khurrana, Kriti the “seven minutes of ter- Sanon, Vicky Kaushal, Jacqueline Fernandez, Varun ror” -- live on NASA TV.

on The Ellen Show with Kevin Hart.

Hart chimed in at the time as to why he would vote for The Rock. “You know what, the world that we’re living in today, you’re seeing the real effect that genuine people like

Dwayne have, and the one thing about him is he’s very serious when it comes to spreading that love, that laughter and the up selling of life on a positive level,” he said.

“If he were to put himself in that position, he would get my support whole heartedly … I know where his heart is. I really know him. So I know if he puts himself in that position, it’s for the better of the people, I can only applaud him and support him for doing that.”

Meanwhile, Johnson brought his mother out to play the ukulele on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week.

He was promoting Young Rock on the show via Zoom, when Fallon said he didn’t know Johnson’s mother Ata played the ukulele, after seeing her in a video the Jumanji star recently posted.

He then brought her onscreen to perform two songs one of which was Samoan folk song ‘Savalivali Means Go For A Walk’.

‘Roohi’ trailer gets over 14 million views in a day

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Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha, Shraddha Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Aparshakti Khurana, Radhika Madan, Mouni Roy and filmmaker Amar Kaushik shared their love for the trailer online.

Jio Studios and Dinesh Vijan have presented the film, which is directed by Hardik Mehta.

“The biggest win of this trailer is that everyone, right from the film industry

to true blue cinephiles are looking forward to catch Roohi on the big screen,” producer Vijan said. The film follows the eerie yet hilarious misadventures of Bhaura played by Rajkummar and Kattanni essayed by Varun, as they cross paths with a mysterious girl named Roohi, played by Janhvi, in a jungle. They are not alone though as a scary ghost also tags along. (IANS)

Detroit is the ‘Hard rock capital of the US’: Alice Cooper

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down due to covid-19, Alice Cooper felt the need to share one of his latest shows with his fans as he cannot wait to get back on the road — better than ever.

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UPPER KHOMI VILLAGE COMMUNITY HALL INAUGURATED actually, two musical movements going on at the same time — Motown and hard rock — and they both got along very well together.

“So, I said, ‘Let’s do an album that basically celebrates Detroit, since I was born there and I owe a lot to Detroit,” he continued.

“But let’s not just do that.

Let’s go in there and record there, write the album there, only use Detroit players, and make it pure Detroit.’ So that was a bit of a discipline for us, because we like to use different players and everything. The only one that wasn’t from Detroit was Joe Bonamassa; he was our guest in there. But everybody else on the album was Detroit rockers.”

“Detroit Stories”, which was once again pro-

duced by Cooper’s longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, features contributions by such Michigan talent as the MC5’s Wayne Kramer, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD’s Mark Farner and Johnny “Bee” Badanjek of MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS. They also used the Detroit Horns and Detroit background singers.“Detroit Stories” will be available on CD, CD+DVD digipak, CD box set (including CD, Blu-ray, t-shirt, face mask, torch light and 3 stickers), and 2LP gatefold.

The DVD and Blu-ray will show the incredible live performance “A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris” for the first time on video. With the whole concert culture being shut

Under the funding of the MGNREGA flagship program, a 2 Storey Building Community Hall of the Upper Khomi Village, measuring 60X30 ft was constructed out of 176 Job Cards at an approximate cost of Rs. 65 Lacs. The RD Commisioner & Secretary, Neposo Theluo with the Dignitaries and Village Leaders. newly constructed building was inaugurated by Neposo Theluo (IAS), Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Rural Development (RD) Government of Nagaland on 13th February 2021 at Upper Khomi Village.

Inaugurating the newly constructed Village Community Hall, Theluo appreciated the village authority for judiciously utlizing the fund and stated that a new valued asset has added to the people of the Upper Khomi Community. Theluo sought the concerted efforts of its people to move ahead with vission and commitment, thereby enabling its people to live a successful life.

Calling upon the villagers to be self-reliant through agricultural activities, he further challenged the village leaders to be prepared with master plan and vision for all round development of the village. Theluo was accompanied by host of officials from the Directorate including, Smti.

Azenuo and Smti. Liboni, both Addl. Director, Shri. G. Thong, Jt. Director and Shri. Theose, Administrative Officer.

Razouvolie Dozo, Deputy Commissioner, Phek, Keyirindang Hegui NCS, Project Director, DRDA Phek, Kuhucuyi D.Vadeo, BDO, Phek Block also spoke during the program.

(Husucho Nienu) VCC, Upper Khomi Village

(Kuveyi Huzhu) VDB Secy, Upper Khomi Village

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egendary rocker Alice Cooper will release his new studio album, “Detroit Stories”, on February 26 via earMUSIC. Named for the city that launched the original Alice Cooper group on the road to success, it follows 2019’s “Breadcrumbs” EP as a modern-day homage to the toughest and craziest rock and roll scene there ever was.

Speaking about his inspiration for “Detroit Stories”, Alice said (see video below): “Well, I was born in Detroit, and Detroit was the, is the hard rock capital of the United States. Los Angeles had THE DOORS, and they were kind of a sexy rock and roll sound.

San Francisco had THE GRATEFUL DEAD. New York had THE YOUNG RASCALS. Detroit had THE STOOGES, the MC5, Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent. We were all hard rock — guitar-driven rock and roll bands. And, for some reason, that just became the home of hard rock. And it was in the same place as Motown, which was interesting. We had,

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

AUS OPEN: Tsitsipas stuns Nadal; Barty out

Stefanos Tsitsipas Melbourne, Feb 17 (IANS): World No.2 Rafael Nadal on Wednesday fell to fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in a five-set thriller that stretched to over four hours. Tsitsipas fought back from two sets down to beat Nadal 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5 at the Rod Laver Arena.

This was the seventh

Karolina Muchova

time that Tsitsipas faced Nadal. He had beaten the 20-time Grand Slam champion only once before Wednesday.

Tsitsipas now faces Russian world No.4 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, who beat compatriot Andrey Rublev earlier in the day. Unlike Tsitsipas, Medvedev had a much more straightforward path against seventh seed Ru-

blev, who was struggling with the humid conditions.

This is only the third time in his career that Nadal has lost a match after going two sets up to love.

The last man to beat Nadal in this manner was Italy’s Fabio Fognini at the 2015 US Open.

ATP Finals champion Medvedev earlier beat Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. He has

thus far won all 11 of his matches against top 10 players since the US Open in September 2020. He goes into the semi-finals on a 19-match unbeaten run.

Rublev stretched Medvedev in the first set amid high humidity. The two players traded breaks before Medvedev finally capitalised by breaking Rublev to love. Rublev then struggled with the humid-

ity as Medvedev ran riot.

Earlier, world No.1 and former champion Ashleigh Barty was ousted from the 2021 Australian Open in the quarter-final stage on Wednesday after being stunned by Czech world No.25 Karolina Muchova over three sets at the Rod Laver Arena.

Barty lost the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 as Muchova continued taking down higher ranked opponents.

She had earlier beaten her compatriot and world No.1 6 Karolina Pliskova before beating 18th ranked Elise Mertens of Belgium in the fourth round.

Barty was utterly dominant in the first set and was continuing in the same vein as she led the second set 2-1. Muchova then took a 10-minute injury timeout which she later admitted she took just to compose herself. The match turned on its head after the match as Muchova reeled off the next 11 of the next 15 games to win the match.

She faces Jennifer Brady, who beat Jessica Pegula in an all-American quarterfinal. Brady, seeded 22nd, beat Pegula 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 at the Rod Laver Arena.

11 Kings XI Punjab Out of favour Gareth Bale renamed ‘towards end of his career’ Punjab Kings lack of minutes, his agent,

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): The Indian Premier League’s Punjab team will be known as Punjab Kings instead of Kings XI Punjab, the franchise announced on Wednesday.

The logo of the franchise has also changed although lion in the team logo has been retained. “The brand name and monogram, lion in the team’s logo stand for exuberance. While the colour (red in background) stands for vibrancy, the roaring lion monogram has been simplified,” a statement from the franchise said.

“Punjab Kings is a more evolved brand name, and we understand it was the right time for us to move focus on the core brand itself,” said Satish Menon, the CEO of Kings XI Punjab.

The Punjab team has qualified for an IPL final only once, in 2014 when they finished runners-up.

Apart from that, they have ended in the last four only one other time - in the inaugural edition of 2008.

The franchise finished sixth in the points table over the last two seasons, in 2019 and 2020.

Gareth Bale Lo n d o n, F e b 1 7 (Agencies): Gareth Bale is not playing regularly for Tottenham because “he’s towards the end of his career”, according to the on-loan Real Madrid forward’s agent.

Wales international Bale, 31, rejoined Spurs from Spanish champions Real in September on a season-long deal.

However, he has since started just two of 22 Premier League matches.

Asked about Bale’s

Jonathan Barnett, said: “He’s towards the end of his career. Really, you have to ask Mourinho that.”

Manager Jose Mourinho last week said a social media post by Bale - which read “good session today” was a “contradiction” with reality as he was left out of Tottenham’s incredible 5-4 FA Cup defeat at Everton a day later.

The Welshman was not introduced until the 71st minute, with Tottenham already 3-0 down to Manchester City, on Saturday.

Barnett added: “When they say, ‘What’s happened to him?’ - he’s won more trophies abroad than any British player in history. “ H e ’s d o n e v e r y well financially, and he has enough money for the rest of his life. He has a very good lifestyle, so that is what has happened to him.”

Bale, who joined Spurs from Southampton in 2007 before his then world record £85m move to the Bernabeu in 2013, has won four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles.

15 events in first Indian Grand Harden inspires Nets to biggest half-time comeback Prix Athletics on Thursday

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): India’s top athletes, including Odisha’s international sprinter Dutee Chand, have registered for the inaugural one-day Indian Grand Prix, the first seniors’ track and field competition since the outbreak of the pandemic, to be held at the Patiala’s National Institute of Sports (NIS) campus on Thursday.

A total of 15 events, including two races each in the men’s 100m and 200m sprints, are scheduled at the Grand Prix.

Odisha’s international sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick will be seen in action in the 100m while Kerala’s 400m sprinter Rajiv Arokia and Noah Nirmal Tom will compete in 200m.

Amoj Jacob (800m) and Dharun Ayyasamy (400m hurdles) are among other top athletes. In the women’s events, the spotlight will be on the likes of Dutee Chand (100m), Anjali Devi and Subha Venkatesan (200m).

“We are pleased that the track and field competition for seniors is resuming after a long break. We have had some excellent results in the three nationallevel meets held in the last three weeks -- in Bhopal, Guwahati, and Ranchi. We believe that we will see similar enthusiasm and energy in the senior ranks as well,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla told IANS. The Grand Prix series is expected to fine tune athletes for the Federation Cup Athletics Meet next month. The second leg of the GP will also be held at the NIS on February 25 while the third leg will be held on March 5.

The competitors will have to furnish Covid-19 RTPCR test report upon entering the NIS campus. Thereafter, they will receive their bibs. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has made it mandatory that the report should have been generated in less than 72 hours before the commencement of the competition.

New Motera Stadium: LED lights installed to eliminate shadows

Lo n d o n, F e b 1 7 ( Ag e n c i e s ) : Ja m e s Harden inspired the biggest half-time comeback in the history of the Brooklyn Nets as they recovered a 21-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 128-124.

Harden scored 38 points for the Nets, who were without the injured Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, BBC reported.

They did not lead in the game until Harden scored a three-pointer with 31.4 seconds remaining.

“We had nothing to lose but to fight back,” said Nets coach Steve Nash.

“We took advantage of outstanding defence in our own end and James made some big shots.”

LeBron James scored 30 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers, who were without the injured Anthony Davis, beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112104.

Davis is expected to be out for several weeks after suffering an Achilles injury against Denver on Sunday.

“We’re not expecting one person to try to pick up AD’s productivity.

Nobody’s going to be able

to do that. He just brings too much to the table. But we all can do more,” said James.

The Lakers are one of the NBA’s best road teams this season, with their victory in Minneapolis making it 13 wins from 16 games away from Los Angeles.

Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone said his players need to do more to support Nikola Jokic after the Serbian scored 43 of their 99 points in their defeat to the Boston Celtics.

The Nuggets were without five rotation players, three of them starters, with Paul Millsap and Monte Morris joining Gary Harris, PJ Dozier and Will Barton on the sidelines.

“He needs help,” said Malone. “Ever y night Nikola goes out there and literally puts this team on his back.

“He leaves it all out there every night. That’s why he’s an MVP candidate, obviously, but it can’t be just one guy in this league. You need others to step up and contribute.”

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points while Jayson Tatum had 21 points and

Brooklyn Nets trailed by 24 points at one point during the first half. eight assists in a 112-99 win for the Celtics, who had lost four of their previous five games.

New Orleans point guard Lonzo Ball described team-mate Zion Williamson as a “once-in-a-lifetime player” after the 20-year-

old inspired the Pelicans to victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Williamson scored 31 points in 28 minutes as the Pelicans ended a run of three straight road defeats to Memphis with a 144-113 win. “Zion’s a once-in-a-

lifetime player and can do a lot of different things on the floor,” said Ball.

“He definitely can score in the post, but he’s also very fluid with the ball up top, and we’re using that to our advantage this year.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI): The newly-installed LED floodlights at refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera will eliminate shadows, making it easier to spot the aerial balls during the upcoming day/night Test between India and England, starting February 24.

The world’s largest cricket stadium will also have 11 centre strips, which is also unique, along with never-before heard four dressing rooms with inbuilt gymnasium, said Gujarat Cricket Association’s joint secretary Anil Patel.

The Motera stadium had undergone extensive renovation which started when current BCCI secretary Jay Shah was in charge of state cricket unit.

With a seating capacity of 1,10,000, which is more than Melbourne Cricket Ground, the GCA will put up around 55,000 tickets on sale for the next K Y M C

two Test matches at the venue. Recently, the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy’s knock-outs were held at the Motera.

“This is the only stadium in the world with 11 centre pitches on the main ground. Also we are the only stadium in the world with same soil being used for practice as well as centre strips,” GCA joint secretary Patel said.

“Instead of mast lights, we have installed LED lights on the entire circular roof for better visibility and to eliminate shadows,” he said.

Patel also said that state-of-the-art drainage system will help the ground dry up in quick time in case of a heavy downpour.

“Sand has been used underneath the grass. This along with a state-of-theart drainage system will remove the rain water very quickly in comparison to other regular grounds.

“Even in case of 8 cm of rainfall during a match, the water would drain out very fast. This will reduce the chances of matches being cancelled due to rain,” said Patel.

He added that equipments worth Rs 2 crore were purchased just for the upkeep of the ground.

The stadium, spread in an area of 63 acres, also has 6 indoor pitches with bowling machines. This is in addition to the outdoor practice pitches and two practice grounds with a small pavilion area, said Patel.

“This is the only stadium in the world with four dressing rooms for the players. Each dressing room has a state-of-the-art gymnasium among other amenities. The stadium also has a clubhouse with 50 deluxe rooms and five suites,” Patel said during the media tour of the stadium.

Loving wife, son, daughter & relatives

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A view of the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, where India and Engalnd are schedued to play their third cricket test match, in Ahmedabad. (PTI)

We would like to express our heartfelt and deepest gratitude to all the individual and will wishers who stood by us at the sudden and tragic demise of our beloved Lt. NK Imnatsangba. A/No 4368507 X We regret our inability to mention each and everyone, but it is in our humble prayer that God bless you all abundantly.

DOB : 17-10-1979 DOD : 15-02-2021

Died on 10-02-2021 2 Timothy 4: 7 : “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith’’

Words fail us as we remember with gratitude in our hearts the selfless love that was rendered to our family at the sudden and untimely demise of our beloved Pastor Late Mengusao Tsürhowho who left us for his heavenly abode on 10-02-2021. We give our special thanks to the various Reverends, Pastors, Churches, Organisations, neighbours, friends, well wishers and individuals for standing with us during this difficult time. We convey our deepest regret for our inability to thank each one of you in person but it is our sincere prayer that God bless you all abundantly.

We express our sincere thanks and gratitude to : 1) Rev. Zotuo Kiewhuo, Senior Pastor Koinonia Church 2) Rev. Dr. Dziesekie-o Kiewhuo, Himalayan Mission Chandigarh 3) Living Word Church, Kohima 4) Zion Church, Kohima 5) Koinonia Baptist Church, Kohima 6) Dr. Kezha Tsürho & Staff Bethel Medical Centre Kohima 7) Dr. Joel Chakhesang 8) Mr. Khriengulie Theünuo, Addl. Advocate General 9) Nerhema Village DP-945

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Loving wife, sons, father and family members

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021

IPL Auctions: RCB, CSK could bid for Maxwell ISL: Goa beat Odisha 3-1 All eyes on Moeen, Malan, uncapped Azharuddeen

CHENNAI, FEB 17 (PTI): Flamboyant Australian Glenn Maxwell is expected to be a favourite, despite his under-whelming record, along with England’s spin bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali during a condensed IPL players auction slated here on Thursday. A total of 292 players have been enlisted for the shortened auctions -164 of them Indian and 125 overseas. There will also be three associate players in the auction. With 61 slots across eight franchises up for grabs, Royal Challengers Bangalore has the maximum, 11 vacancies, to fill with a purse of Rs 35.4 crore while Sunrisers Hyderabad has only three slots available with Rs 10.75 crore in its kitty.

The highest purse available is with Anil Kumble coached ‘Punjab Kings’, formerly Kings XI Punjab, which has Rs 53.20 crore

Indian Premier League player auction briefing in progress in Chennai on Wednesday.

available for spending on nine spots. With the IPL back in India after being held in the UAE last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focus will be on big-hitters as well as slow bowlers and Maxwell and Moeen fit the category to the T. However, Maxwell averages 22 in the tournament, having played 82 matches for his 1505 runs. He last played for Punjab. Moeen, on the other hand, was seen in action for RCB in previous season.

While Maxwell and his former skipper Steve Smith are both in the highest bidding category of Rs 2 crore, one name that will surely attract attention is world’s No.1 ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan from Eng-

land. A strike-rate of nearly 150 in 19 T20 Internationals has catapulted Malan into limelight and a few teams may like to raise their bids for the 33-year-old with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore.

One of the most keenly-watched teams going into the auction will be CSK after a nightmarish 2020 season when they failed to qualify for the IPL play-offs for the first time in tournament’s history.

Since the IPL will be held in India, Maxwell despite his under-achieving stats could be picked for his skills as a tight off-break bowler on slower tracks.

In case of Malan, Kings XI Punjab could walk away with him considering their

Kohli should be banned for Ahmedabad Tests: Lloyd

Virat Kohli argues with umpire Nitin Menon during second Test in Chennai (Credits: Screengrab) New Delhi, Feb 17 ( Ag e n c i e s ) : V i r a t Kohli should be given a three-match ban and he should not be allowed to play in the Ahmedabad Tests against England, said former English cricketer, coach and commentator David Lloyd.

Writing in his column for Daily Mail, Lloyd said: “(How can) the captain of a national team be allowed to criticise, berate, intimidate and ridicule an

official on the pitch? Kohli certainly shouldn’t be playing in Ahmedabad next week. (He should miss) the next three Tests.”

The incident Lloyd referred to happened on Day 3, as India reviewed a not-out decision against Joe Root in the final over of the day. Kohli reacted furiously when his opposite number was reprieved on umpire’s call. Replays showed that the point of impact was umpire’s call,

thus saving Root.

Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain were among those who strongly criticised Kohli’s act of confronting the umpire.

Lloyd further said in his column that the lack of action from match referee Javagal Srinath “beggars belief ”.

“The lack of any action from match referee Javagal Srinath sitting there in his nice air-conditioned room beggars belief. Three and a half days and he has said nothing,” he said.

Lloyd also felt that the Chepauk pitch made the second Test a ‘nonevent’. “This Test, to me, was a non-event. And to be brutally honest I’ve had no real interest in it since the first morning when the pitch exploded. I knew all I needed to know then.

The result was inevitable, it was just a matter of time,” Lloyd wrote.

purse and lack of consistent firepower at the top of the order. The only part that is debatable about Malan is how good he is when it comes to playing slow bowlers in Indian conditions.

Among Indian players, the three notable capped names are Kedar Jadhav, veteran off-spinner Harbhajn Singh and fast bowler Umesh Yadav.

The auction dynamics, when it comes to Indian players, have been very different compared to foreign players due to the limited available slots (8) in each squad. For example, a Yuvraj Singh or a Jaydev Unadkat, despite underwhelming performances season after season, got bank breaking deals simply because they are Indian players with specific skill sets. That’s the reason Sunrisers Hyderabad or a Rajasthan Royals won’t mind having an Umesh on board because of his experience at the highest level.

Similarly, Kedar and Harbhajan, with high-end base prices may go unsold during the first lot. But they are likely to picked up in the

ISL: Kerala part ways with Vicuna New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): Indian Super League (ISL) club Kerala Blasters on Wednesday announced that they have parted ways with coach Kibu Vicuna. The announcement came a day after Kerala were thrashed 4-0 by Hyderabad FC. “The club can confirm that we have parted ways with head coach Kibu Vicuna on mutual consent.

We would like to thank him for his contributions during the season and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours,” said the club in their statement.

Assistant coach and former India midfielder Ishfaq Ahmed will be taking charge on an interim basis till a permanent replacement is announced, the club further said. Vicuna joined the club on April 22 after leading Mohun Bagan to the I-League title last season.

However, they sit second to bottom 18 matches into the season, having won just three games, drawn seven and lost eight.

final hour after franchises have settled squads.

Ditto for Steve Smith, among those with the highest base price but having a strike-rate which is not the greatest for a top-order batsman, might not find too many bidders unless any franchise is looking for a suitable captaincy candidate. As usual, there would be some eye-popping bids for the uncapped domestic players like Kerala’s Mohammed Azharuddeen (Junior), Tamil Nadu’s handsome hulk Shah Rukh Khan, all-rounder R Sonu Yadav, Baroda’s Vishnu Solanki and Bengal’s Akash Deep. They could invite mini-bidding wars with their lowest base price bracket of Rs 20 lakh.

Mumbai Indians (15.35 crore) and Delhi Capitals (Rs 13.40 crore) will require seven and eight players respectively but the finalists of last year probably have a stable core and can look at improvising during the auctions. It could well be the case of re-buying a few players from the auction as per needs.

Margao, Feb 17 (PTI): FC Goa kept pace with their rivals for a top-four spot with a clinical 3-1 victory over Odisha FC in an ISL game here on Wednesday.

Goals from Alberto Noguera (18th min) and Jorge Ortiz (26th min) gave Goa an early lead to the Gaurs before Diego Mauricio (30th min) pulled one back for Odisha.

Ivan Gonzalez (75th minute) then put the result beyond doubt. The victory pushed Goa up to fourth with 27 points, same as Hyderabad FC in third and one point ahead of NorthEast United in fifth.

FC Goa’s first goal was an exemplary display of team effort. A clever through ball from mid-field set Gonzalez free down the left and his curling cross was headed in past Odisha keeper Arshdeep Singh by the onrushing Noguera.

Daniel Lalhlimpuia wasted a chance to bring Odisha back on an even keel, and they soon paid for that missed opportunity. Eight minutes after they had taken the lead, Goa went two up through a blistering counter-

du Plessis retires from Test cricket, shifts focus to T20s

J o h a n n e s bu rg, Feb 17 (IANS): Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis on Wednesday announced his retirement from Test cricket, thus ending a nine-year career that started in November 2012.

He clarified he is not retiring from ODI cricket yet and focussing on T20s. du Plessis said that with two consecutive T20 World Cup tournaments coming up in 2021 and 2022, he is shifting his focus to the shortest format of the game.

“It has been an honour to play for my country in all the formats of the game, but the time has come for me to retire from Test cricket. If someone had told me 15 years ago, that I would play 69 Test matches for South Africa and captained the side, I wouldn’t have believed them. I stand in a place of utmost gratitude for a Test career full of blessings bestowed on me,” the 36-year-old wrote in a statement that he posted on

Faf du Plessis

his Instagram handle.

“The next two years are the ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so I can be the best player I can possibly be. I strongly believe that I have a lot to offer to the Proteas in this format,” he said.

He also clarified that he is not retiring from ODI cricket yet. “This does not mean that ODI cricket is longer in the plans. I’m just making T20 cricket the priority in the short term,” he said.

PSG outclass Barca; Liverpool stun Leipzig in UCL

Alberto Noguera Ripoll of FC Goa score goal at Fatorda Stadium in Goa, Wednesday. (PTI) attack. The move started better chances, Odisha still off an Odisha corner that had opportunities to find an Goa keeper Dheeraj Singh equaliser. The best of these punched out of the box. The chances fell to Mauricio, ball found its way to Saviour who received the ball inches Gama, who found the run away from the near post. of Ortiz with a pinpoint However, he went for an aupass. Ortiz was in behind the dacious back-heel finish and Odisha defence and beat the failed to connect properly.

They soon paid for the onrushing Arshdeep with a wonderful chip. At that wasted chances when Goa stage, it looked like Goa was found a third. The goal was going to run away with the once again down to some match, but Odisha changed poor defending by Odisha.

They failed to deal the complexion of the game yet again by grabbing a goal properly with a corner, after back, just minutes after they Arshdeep had saved Gonzalez’s header, and allowed had conceded.

A cross from Rakesh the Spaniard to tap the loose Pradhan on the left eluded ball home.

Dheeraj and was headed in Thursday’s Match

by Mauricio at the far post.

NorthEast United Vs While Goa had the Chennaiyin 7:30 pm

NRSFA partners with Minerva Academy FC DIMAPUR, Feb 17 (NPN): Naga Rising Star Football Academy (NRSFA) and its club Naga United Football Club announced their partnership with Minerva Academy FC Academy, a football club based in Chandigarh to develop football in the state.

Administrator NRSFA, Shiyeto Wotsa expressed hope that with this tie up, there will be a positive scope for the talented players to make professional development and career alongside the NRSFA and Naga United FC with support from Minerva Academy FC. Wotsa was also confident that the foundation will lead to huge benefit for the club and football in the state.

Minerva Academy FC will be strategic partner and assist NRSFA and Naga United FC to level up their academic and club performance. It will also create platform and give chances to the players to shine their career professionally, Wotsa said.

NRSFA is located in Neingulie Memorial High School in Niesatuo Colony Khermahal Dimapur.

Wotsa also stated that the help of association of Football Clubs and Academies in India (AFCAI), Laiwang Konyak has signed three years contract in Minerva Punjab FC and Winamthiu Ringdi to play in Delhi Senior Division Football League.

Minerva Academy has also selected two under-9 years boys player from Naga Rising Star Football Academy for the final trial to be held in Chandigarh.

The two boys are- Stephen Panmei and Dauloumei Pamei. For more information and activities of the academy, interested person can contact 8787883848.

HL Singson memorial tourney ends

DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): The 9th HL Singson Memorial Football Tournament, which began on February 9, came to an end on February 17 at public ground Ahthibung.

The closing ceremony was graced by Advisor to the Collective Leadership, GPRN/NSCN, C. Singson as special guest. C. Singson congratulated the two teams, Fury FC and LMFC, for making it to the finals.

The function was chaired by RCA vice chairman, Henpu.

Earlier, the programme began with opening prayer by Rev. Lenkhokam.

RCA chairman, Tonga Hangsing gave a brief account of RCA’s history and the tournament. RCA joint secretary, Chungminthang Singson delivered the vote of thanks and the programme concluded with a prayer by Rev. Janglam.

Nagaland Shooting Championship

Mbappe was too hot to handle for Barcelona’s defence, including Gerard Mohamed Salah (2nd R) and Sadio Mane (R) were on the scoresheet for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Pique.

Barcelona/ Budapest, Feb 17 (IANS): FC Barcelona’s chances of winning this season’s Champions League all but evaporated on Tuesday night after they suffered a 4-1 home defeat to Paris Saint Germain while Liverpool beat RB Leipzig.

PSG striker Kylian Mbappe helped his side’s supporters forget the absence of Neymar and Angel Di Maria with a hattrick that left Barca needing to score four goals in the return leg to highlight the club’s recent decline.

Barca coach Ronald Koeman took a big risk in bringing Gerard Pique back into his starting 11 after over four months out with a knee injury, while Sergino Dest was also back at right-back after injury.

Barca actually took the lead from the penalty spot on 27 minutes, with Lionel Messi slotting home after Frenkie de Jong had his heel clipped in the PSG area and Ousmane Dembele then missed a chance to make it 2-0 for Barca as Keylor Navas made a good save in the 29th minute.

That was as good as it got for Barca as Mbappe equalized three minutes later after taking a pass from Marco Verratti.

Pique and Dest’s lack of match fitness looked to be a factor when Mbappe put his side ahead in the 65th minute as he got in behind the Barca defence to net their second of the game.

Moise Kean netted PSG’s third of the night five minutes later and with Barca thrown into chaos, Mbappe rounded off a perfect counter-attack to add

a fourth goal and complete his hat-trick in the 86th minute.

Last season saw Barca humiliated by Bayern Munich 8-2 in the Champions League, although this defeat is not as humiliating, it is not far off and shows the deep problems at the club.

Liverpool 2-0 Leipzig Goals from Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane gave Liverpool a clinical 2-0 win over an errant RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 fixture. Liverpool left behind a string

of unfavourable results in the Premier League and were clinical in keeping out Leipzig whose errors ended up costing them the match.

The match, which was Liverpool’s away leg, was played at Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary due to Covid-19 restrictions in Germany.

Liverpool came into the match on the back of three successive defeats.

However, it was Leipzig who slipped up with their defensive errors allowing the English champions to

pounce on them.

Leipzig took the first chance of going ahead as early as the fourth minute with a close-range header from Dani Olmo hitting the post.

Liverpool started imposing themselves as the match progressed. In the 53rd minute, Salah took full advantage of a poor backpass from Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer to score the opener.

And then five minutes later, Mane scored in a similar fashion as Liverpool doubled their lead.

DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): Nagaland Rifle Association (NRA) in collaboration with Aries Rifle and Pistol Shooting Academy will be conducting the 6th Nagaland Shooting Championship (NSC) 2021 in air rifle, air pistol and small arms from February 26 and 27 at NST colony and Aries Sports Complex, Bamunpukhuri-1, Dimapur.

NRA president, Merang Jamir informed that shooters have to make their own arrangements for boarding and lodging. Weapons will be provided by the association and ammunitions will be issued against valid arms license on payment at the venue.

Shooters have been requested to visit www. thenrai.org for online entry for the championship.

The online entries will be accepted till midnight of February 25.

Shooters have also been informed to follow the SOP guideline for COVID-19 by wearing mask and carry hand sanitizers.

Zhuikhu Memorial Trophy Gold Cup

DIMAPUR, FEB 17 (NPN): Western Sumi Sports Association (WSSA) will be organising the 22nd Zhuikhu Memorial Trophy from February 22 to 27 at Kuhoxu village under Niuland area.

The inaugural function will be graced by advisor Sericulture, Excise and Minority Affairs, Zhaleo Rio as special guest and Kuzholuzo Azo Nienu MLA as guest of honour.

All together 26 team will participate in tournament which include football and volleyball.

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